The research team at SRM Medical College and Research Centre will evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the BBV152 Covaxin on the volunteers. About 100 volunteers are being tested at the SRM Research Centre, which is the only institution in Tamil Nadu conducting human trials of the vaccine. According to the college authorities, a few volunteers have been given the first dose of vaccine and if they do not show any adverse effects, the dose will be administered on other volunteers also. “Currently, the volunteers are being monitored by the experts in intensive care units. The selected volunteers were screened before they were administered with the vaccine,” an official said. He added that the research team had selected the candidates from those volunteers who registered for the human trials of Covaxin. “We are following the ICMR guidelines on the trials and volunteers have been split into two groups. One group has been administered with the vaccine. However, both the groups will be monitored closely to check for antibodies. The outcome will be based on a comparative study of the antibody levels in each group,” said Dr N Sethuraman, registrar of SRM Medical College and Hospital.

Authorities at the college said that the trial would at least take about one month and the results will be shared with the Drug Controller General of India through ICMR.

Meanwhile, human trials of the vaccine began on Monday, AIIMS-Delhi Director Dr Randeep Guleria said, adding that it would take at least three months for researchers to arrive at the first set of data.