The third phase of Covaxin’s clinical trials has begun at the Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute (MGMCRI), a constituent college of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth.
According to a press note from MGMCRI, the trial is currently ongoing across 21 centres in India.
MGMCRI the only partner institution in the region approved by the ICMR for the conduct of the trial. Based on the results of the trial, the vaccine might be licensed commercially in early 2021, MGMCRI said.
It called for healthy individuals, both men and women, aged over 18, to volunteer to participate in the trial. A special team of doctors and trained staff will be conducting the trial, monitoring the safety of the volunteers.
Covaxin is the country’s first indigenous vaccine against COVID-19, manufactured by Bharat Biotech International Limited, Hyderabad, in collaboration with ICMR and the National Institute of Virology, Pune.
The ICMR-sponsored trial expects to enrol between 1,000 and 1,100 healthy volunteers to assess the efficacy and safety of the vaccine during the one-year follow-up period.
To register as a volunteer, contact the registration desk, I Block, MGMCRI, Pillaiyarkuppam, or call 9443766329, the note added.
