Bhubaneswar: With COVID-19 cases rising exponentially in Bhubaneswar, the much awaited human trial of the vaccine against Coronavirus began at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital here on Monday.
Covaxin, the vaccine being developed by Bharat Biotech, was administered to several persons who had volunteered to be part of the trial, informed Dr. E.Venkat Rao, Principal Investigator of the trial process.
The vaccination was conducted after the volunteers had undergone a rigorous screening procedure. "There was a lot of enthusiasm among people who offered themselves to be volunteers for the trial," said Dr Rao, a Professor in the hospital's department of Community Medicine.
The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), which is collaborating with the pharma company Bharat Biotech for development of the COVID-19 vaccine, has chosen 12 medical institutes in the country for trials
It is pertinent to mention here that, IMS and SUM Hospital is the only such institute in Odisha to be chosen for the purpose.
As per a statement released by the institute, those who are interested to volunteer for the human trial project may contact the institute through registering online at ptctu.soa.ac.in under the section register for clinical trials.
Volunteers need to be disease free and can screen themselves through a simple questionnaire available at the same website, the statement read.
(Edited By Bikram Keshari Jena)
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