The clinical trial for Covaxin, conducted by Chennai’s SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre began its third phase on Monday. The hospital said that the first two phases of the vaccine trial were successful. In a press statement, the hospital said that over 1000 persons will be subjected to the vaccine trial in its third phase. Speaking to the press, Pro Chancellor Dr P Sathyanarayanan said that the hospital has so far added 500 volunteers for the test and that the recruitment will happen till the end of December.
“We are trying our best to make this work, as it will be India's first indigenous vaccine,” he said. Adding to what Dr Sathyanarayanan said, Dr Satyajit Mohapatra said that any person above the age of 18 years and has not been infected from COVID-19 in the past can participate as a volunteer in the third phase of the vaccine trial. Dr Satyajit Mohapatra is the Principal Investigator of the study. “Pregnant women are excluded. The vaccine shot will be administered twice - 28 days apart,” he added.
The statement also said that in the first two phases of the vaccine, none of the volunteers suffered any serious adverse reactions except mild fever and body pain. There were 30 participants in the first phase of the trial which began in July 2020; 45 participants were administered the samples in the second phase, which was done in August. The third phase of the trial is aimed at inducing immunogenicity in the volunteer. Immunogenicity is the ability of an antigen (or a foreign substance) to provoke an immune response in the body.
Covaxin is developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). The vaccine received the nod from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for human trials earlier this year.