Covaxin Phase III Trials To Start By Dec 2 In Kolkata , TMC Minister Likely To Get First Shot

According to the official, the State Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim (62) is likely to be the volunteer to take the first shot of Covaxin if everything goes according to plan and he is found to be fit in the medical tests.

(Representative Image/ Getty)

The phase III trial of Covaxin the indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine by Bharat Biotech and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will start at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Disease (NICED) in Kolkata will start from Wednesday, a senior official said. According to the official, the State Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim (62) is likely to be the volunteer to take the first shot of Covaxin if everything goes according to plan and he is found to be fit in the medical tests. "The phase III trials of Covaxin will be starting on December 2. We have requested some of the applicants, including Hakim, to appear for the trials on that day. They will be administered the vaccine only after they test fit for the trials. They cannot have any comorbidities. Following satisfactory results, the shots will be administered to them," the official said. Hakim, who had earlier expressed his wish to volunteer for the vaccine trials is also the chief of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. "It is a great feat that he has expressed his willingness to be a part of the program and we will be happy to enroll him. He requires to take a few screening tests, following which the next step will be decided," the official added. On being asked whether the senior Trinamool Congress leader will be getting the vaccine or the placebo, the official replied that neither the volunteer nor the investigator will be able to know who is receiving what, as the phase III trial of Covaxin is a double-blinded placebo-controlled study. According to the official, half of the volunteers will be receiving the first- candidate vaccines, indigenously developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and the ICMR, while the rest will be given placebos. Another shot will be administered to each of the volunteers after four weeks of the first one. According to reports, around 1,000 volunteers will be administered in phase III clinical human trials of the Covid-19 vaccine candidate Covaxin.