Human Trial Of India's Covid Vaccine 'Covaxin' Begins In Uttar Pradesh, 'Volunteers Are Fine'

At least 375 people will participate in the first phases of the clinical human trial of India's first COVID-19 vaccine. The second phase of the trial will be on 750 people that will be to check the vaccine’s safety and immunogenicity.

(Photo Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Covaxin Trials: The human trial of India's first indigenously developed coronavirus vaccine Covaxin has started in Uttar Pradesh on Friday. The trial began at Rana Hospital and Trauma Centre, which is among the 12 institutes selected for clinical trials of the vaccine. ALSO READ| India Inches Closer Towards Oxford Vaccine, Panel Recommends DCGI To Permit SII For Human Trials As many as nine volunteers participated in today's trial, Venketesh Chaturvedi, the chief administrative officer confirmed news agency PTI. "The trials began under the supervision of physician Dr. Ajit Pratap Singh and gynecologist and obstetrician Dr. Sona Ghosh," Chaturvedi said. Those who took a vaccine today were under strict observation. "All of them are absolutely fine," he added.

COVID-19 vaccine trial starts at 8 sites

On Monday, the clinical trial of India's COVID-19 vaccine candidate Covaxin began at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital in Bhubaneswar. The first phase of the human trial of Covaxin was completed at PGIMS Rohtak. The hospital started the trial on July 17 and around 50 volunteers enrolled for this exercise. "50 people across India were administered the vaccine and the results were encouraging," Dr. Savita Verma, principal investigator of the vaccine trial team, told news agency ANI.

Scientists analysing results of phase one safety trial of Covaxin

The results of the first phase of safety trials of India’s first domestic vaccine candidate are being analyzed, officials said on Friday, and an expert panel will approve the next round once the results are in. The Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) of the vaccine will give nod to embark on the second phase of the human trial, which will be to test the vaccine’s safety and immunogenicity, after analysis of results of 375 people, who were administered the vaccine in the first phase in New Delhi. The ICMR has selected 12 institutes for the trial. They are AIIMS-Delhi, Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad; PGMIS Rohtak; SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Chennai; AIIMS-Patna, Redkar Hospital, Goa; Gillurkar Multi-specialty Hospital and Research Centre, Nagpur; Sum Hospital, Bhubaneswar; Jeevan Rekha Hospital, Belagavi (Karnataka); King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam; Prakhar Hospital, Kanpur; and Rana Hospital, Gorakhpur. The 12 institutes have been asked by the ICMR to fast track clinical trials of the vaccine as it is being considered as one of the top priority projects which are being monitored at the topmost level of the government.