Mumbai, September 22: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation-run King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital on Tuesday got the approval of the Maharashtra ethics committee for conducting phase II and III trials for the Oxford Covishield vaccine candidate, an official said.

KEM Hospital Dean Dr Hemant Deshmukh told PTI that post approval of the committee, screening of volunteers for the trials will begin from Wednesday. Also Read | Mumbai Rains: Heavy Spell of Showers Leads to Water Logging in Parts of City, Netizens Share Pics & Videos.

The process would need 100 volunteers, he added. "We need an adult without prior infection, including coronavirus. Starting tomorrow (Wednesday), we will screen people and hopefully will be able to give doses to 3-4 people every day as part of the ongoing trial. Also Read | Bada Business ‘Retail Ka Mahakumbh’ Event 2020: Dr Vivek Bindra to Share Business Expansion Strategies in Free Online Event on September 27.

"We need to keep a volunteer under observation for an hour after administering the vial," he said. Sources said Nair Hospital, another major facility run by the metropolis' civic body, has also received approval for conducting clinical trials of the Oxford Covishield vaccine.

Trials of the Oxford vaccine candidate are being conducted in Pune also. The Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has partnered with British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca for manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccinecandidate, being developed by the University of Oxford, UK.

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