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Covaxin phase 3 trial in Kolkata from today, TMC minister may get first shot
State Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, 62, is likely to take the first shot of the vaccine if he is found to be fit in the medical tests, a senior official of the institute told news agency PTI on Monday.
The phase 3 trial of coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine candidate Covaxin will start at the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Disease (NICED) in Kolkata from Wednesday.
State Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, 62, is likely to take the first shot of the vaccine if he is found to be fit in the medical tests, a senior official of the institute told news agency PTI on Monday.
Also Read: Covid-19: Patna AIIMS to enrol 1,000 volunteers for Covaxin phase 3 trial
“The phase III trials of Covaxin will be starting on December 2. We have requested some of the applicants, including Hakim, to appear for the trials on that day. They will be administered the vaccine only after they test fit for the trials. They cannot have any comorbidities. Following satisfactory results, the shots will be administered to them,” the official said, adding that the institute was happy to enrol the minister as a volunteer.
“It is a great feat that he has expressed his willingness to be a part of the programme and we will be happy to enrol him. He requires to take a few screening tests, following which the next step will be decided,” the official added.
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Since the phase III trial of Covaxin is a double-blinded placebo- controlled study, neither the volunteer nor the investigator will be able to know whether the senior Trinamool Congress leader will be receiving the vaccine or the placebo, the official said. The Covaxin is being indigenously developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and the ICMR.
As many as 1,000 people have volunteered and half of them will be receiving the vaccine while the other half will be given placebos, that does not contain the active substance that affects health. Another shot will be administered to all volunteers after four weeks of the first one.
In the first phase of trials, the placebo-vaccine ratio was 1:3. It was not given in the second stage, but would be given in 1:1 ratio in the third stage.
