In his early 30s, a primary school teacher from West Bengal, the first state volunteer for the first phase of the Covaxin clinical trial, showed ‘positive test results after being tested last week.
It was the first check-up for Chiranjit Dhibar, and he was a little anxious. He then said to the Times of India that Doctors at the Preventive and Therapeutic Clinical Trial Unit of the hospital said they are quite satisfied with the result. They didn’t give him any report. But, the doctor who attended him mentioned that he is happy with the antibody growth in his body.
He also added that Chiranjit Dhibar neither caught cold nor had a sour stomach. And he was asked to inform the hospital in case of an anomaly.
Doctors had given him a 24*7 helpline number and an e-mail ID if he wanted to record any reactions. He was directed to alert doctors at the hospital whether he had started to take other medications that were not linked to Covid. In April, Dhibar volunteered for Covaxin’s Phase I clinical trial.
He was shortlisted, and in July, he delivered the first dose. The gold standard for testing a new vaccine’s feasibility is known to be randomized, placebo-controlled trials.
An ICMR official said that participants are randomized to receive either the vaccine under investigation.
A clinical trial’s first step review is concerned with safety. An antigen would be the infectious part of the virus, and the body would attempt to produce an antibody against it. Researchers will then see how the antibody can destroy the antigen.
Dhibar said, “I was asked to maintain a normal diet, but any addiction like alcohol or smoking is prohibited for 194 days. I will have to go for another check-up on the 194th day.”
