A 30-year-old man received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on Friday.
New Delhi:
A 30-year-old man received the first dose of the vaccine against the coronavirus under test named COVAXIN on Friday at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi.
A total of 12 volunteers were called in for a number of pre-tests including blood and nasopharyngeal tests for COVID-19.
After testing, 10 healthy individuals were selected for the vaccine to be administered in phases.
After the first dose, a report on their state of health will be submitted to the ethics committee, which will review the entire process.
A total of 100 healthy people will be vaccinated with AIIMS during these trials.
Covaxin, developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech in collaboration with ICMR and the National Institute of Virology (NIV), had recently obtained approval for human clinical trials from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
AIIMS-Delhi is one of 12 sites selected by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to conduct Phase I and II of the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials of Covaxin.
Phase I of the vaccine trial will be conducted in healthy people between the ages of 18 and 55 who do not have co-morbid conditions. Women without pregnancy will also be selected to be part of the trial in the first phase, the PTI news agency reported.
In the second phase, 750 people will be recruited between 12 and 65 years old, said AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria.
Already, around 1,800 volunteers have signed up for the AIIMS trial, he said.
“In the first phase we see the safety of the vaccine which is of paramount importance and the dose range is also calculated,” he said.
