Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij to get Covaxin dose on Friday, vaccine in phase III trial

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said he will be administered Coronavirus vaccine 'Covaxin' on Friday at 11 am at Civil Hospital, Ambala Cantt under the supervision of doctors. This development comes as the Haryana health minister had volunteered to take the trial dose of the vaccine. Covaxin is India's first indigenously developed coronavirus vaccine which is in phase III of clinical trials. 

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Largest Phase III efficacy study

According to reports, the vaccine's phase III trials will start from November 20 in Haryana and Vij had offered to be the first volunteer to get vaccinated in the state. The vaccine is being developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and its phase III trials will involve the participation of 26,000 volunteers across 25 centres. It is said to be the first in the country for COVID-19 vaccine and the largest phase III efficacy study ever conducted.

The Hyderabad-based firm had said that it plans to launch the vaccine in the second quarter of next year if it gets the necessary approvals from the Indian regulatory authorities. 

Last month, the vaccine maker said it had successfully completed the interim analysis of Phase 1 and 2 trials During the phase II trial of Covaxin, the vaccine has been tested in 12 hospitals across the country, and volunteers between the ages of 18 and 55 with no co-morbidity conditions took part in the trial. The vaccine trial took place in Hyderabad, Kancheepuram, Patna, Rohtak, Delhi, Goa, Bhubaneswar and Lucknow among other places.

Meanwhile, India is inching towards the 90 lakh mark in terms of COVID-19 infections across the country. India on Thursday reported 45,576 new Covid-19 infections, taking the total tally to 89,58,483 COVID-19 cases, of which 4,43,303 are active cases while 83,83,602 have recovered and discharged. With 585 new deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the toll mounts to 1,31,578.

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