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Mumbai: Testing of the much-awaited Covid-19 vaccine, developed by Oxford University, began Saturday afternoon at Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital. On the first day of the trial, three volunteers between the age group of 20 and 45 were given the Oxford University- Astra Zeneca developed Covishield vaccine part of the second phase of human trials.
According to the sources, two of the three healthy volunteers are entrepreneurs, while one of them is a researcher at a government agency. Meanwhile, the hospital administration has refused to disclose the identities of the volunteers, as directed by the Ethics Committee citing privacy reasons.
KEM Dean, Dr Hemant Deshmukh said all three volunteers are healthy and have no comorbidities or any medical history. RT-PCR and antibody tests have been conducted to see if they have been exposed to the coronavirus.
“We gave the first dose to three volunteers on Saturday afternoon, then monitored them for an hour after vaccination and then allowed them to go home. In the second phase, we will try to monitor their health condition. If side effects such as fever, nausea, dizziness or redness and swelling are seen after the injection, it will be assessed”, said KEM Hospital, Dean, Dr Hemant Deshmukh.
“The hospital has selected 20 more volunteers for the procedure. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), if any volunteer dies due to side effects during the trial period, they are covered by one crore life insurance. Also, they have been given medical insurance of Rs 38- 50 lakh in case of any adverse effects due to vaccination,” Additional Municipal Commissioner, Suresh Kakani
Meanwhile, three women volunteers are expected to be given the first dose of Covid 19 vaccine at BYL Nair Hospital on Monday.
