The much-awaited trial of COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford started in India on Wednesday. Pune-based Serum Institute of India partnered with AstraZeneca to manufacture the COVID-19 vaccine candidate for India and low-and-middle income countries.
Five volunteers enrolled to get for the Phase II trial of Covishield vaccine at Bharti Vidyapeeth’s Medical College and Hospital in Pune. The doctors conducted COVID-19 and antibodies tests on all them. Three volunteers had tested positive for coronavirus antibodies test, hence they became ineligible for the trial. Two of them were administered the vaccine.
Dr Sanjay Lalwani, medical director of Bharti Vidyapeeth’s Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre said that doctors at the hospital administered the first shot of the Covishield vaccine to a 32-year-old man after his reports of COVID-19 and antibodies tests came out negative.Another 48-year-old male volunteer was also given the vaccine, he added. “The two volunteers, who were administered the vaccines are being monitored,” Lalwani said.
Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, selected 17 sites in India to conduct the Phase II trial of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine.