Chennai, July 23: As part of human trials of Covaxin, India's first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech, selected volunteers were given its first dose at Chennai's SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre on Thursday. A group of healthy people, aged between 18 and 55 years, having no co-morbid conditions, was given a controlled dose of Covaxin during the first phase trial. India Has Fantastic 'Vaccine Capability'; Will Be Crucial in COVID-19 Fight: UK Envoy.

Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech had announced on July 17 that the Phase-I clinical trials began across the country on July 15. The Phase-1 human clinical trials for Covaxin is being conducted to see if the potential COVID-19 vaccine is safe and how much of the dose can be administered. The SRM hospital is one of the 12 institutes selected by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for Phase-I clinical trials of the vaccine. COVID-19 Vaccine: Serum Institute Will Make 300-400 Million Doses of 'Covishield' Ready by December 2020, Says Adar Poonawalla.

"Every week, the volunteers who have been administered the vaccine will come for a checkup here. We will test them and review their responses. This will go on for about six months. We will keep sending the results and observations to the Indian Council of Medical Research," Dr A Sundaram, Dean (Medical Research) of SRM Medical College Hospital and Research told The News Minute.

In phase I, the vaccine would be tested on 375 volunteers. The second phase would include around 750 volunteers from all 12 sites. The process for conducting the clinical trials for Covaxin has also been started at Delhi's All India Insitute of Medical Sciences, Rohtak's Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Goa's Redkar Hospital and Hyderabad's Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 23, 2020 11:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).