BELAGAVI: The human clinical trial of BBV152 COVID-19 vaccine or Covaxin has achieved an initial success in a Belagavi-based hospital as the four volunteers who were administered the first dose of Covaxin are fully healthy and fit after five days.
According to hospital authorities, the foursome are not having any health complications or any side-effects of Covaxin.
Sharing details about how the trial began, Director of Jeevan Rekha Hospital, Belagavi, Dr Amit Bhate said, "After a tedious process of selecting the right volunteers for the trials, we administered the first dose of the vaccine on two men and two women on Friday. All four were healthy and had tested negative for COVID-19 before they were given the first doses.''
The foursome have been isolated in their own houses in Belagavi where a team of doctors is monitoring their health condition on a regular basis.
The Jeevan Rekha has been testing many people who have come forward to undergo the Covaxin trials, but Dr Bhate said, it was difficult to get volunteers without the slightest health complication and who have tested negative for COVID-19.
However, the hospital has been able to select several other volunteers who will also be undergoing trials on completing all the formalities. Only those aged between 18 and 55 without health problems and tested negative for the pandemic will be eligible to undergo the Covaxin trials.
The blood and swab sample tests of all the selected volunteers are being sent to ICMR for final clearance before they are given the first dose of the Covaxin. According to Dr Bhate, the second dose of Covaxin will be given to the four of them after 14 days (as per the rules).
Later, the process of testing the antibody level and immune system of all the volunteers who are given both doses of Covaxin will begin once the volunteers complete 28 days on taking the first dose. The team of doctors would draw up a report based on the condition of the volunteers once they completed 28 days, said Dr Bhate.
Dr Bhate said, the second phase of the clinical trial at Jeevan Rekha would begin after 20 days and the volunteers found fit for it would be tested.
According to sources, 375 volunteers have so far have been put under the Covaxin trials in 12 different centres spread across the country.