New Delhi, Aug 21, 2020 (Yes Punjab News)
Five volunteers will be vaccinated on Friday as the first phase of human clinical trials of COVAXIN, India’s first indigenous vaccine begins at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, according to a report.
About 3,500 people have registered to take part in the trial of the vaccine being developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The phase 1 trial in AIIMS will involve 100 healthy people. A report in the Jagran, citing AIIMS doctor Dr Sanjay Roy, professor of Community Medicine, stated that screening of study subjects is going on.
Dr Roy, who is leading the trial at AIIMS, said that they have received investigation reports of many people, adding that vaccination will start if all goes well. Initially, 10 participants will receive the vaccine and their report will be reviewed by the institute’s Ethics Committee for safety, after which the rest of the subjects will be vaccinated.
The report added that all 3,500 people who have volunteered for the vaccine trial are being screened for various parameters at AIIMS. About 50 types of tests, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney and liver diseases are being conducted on study participants to ensure that they are healthy and fit for the trial.
It may be noted that Bharat Biotech has partnered with Delhi-based Dr Dangs Lab for the clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine. The lab has already started processing samples from study participants from various trial sites to assess the safety of the vaccine.
The ICMR has picked 12 medical institutions to conduct the clinical trials of COVAXIN, which is derived from a strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus isolated in NIV, Pune. The virus strain was then transferred to Bharat Biotech to develop into a vaccine.
