Oxford Covid-19 vaccine trial: Vital health indicators of volunteers normal, check details

The individuals have also been provided with the emergency contact numbers to contact the hospital staff in case of any emergency. (Representative image)

In a significant development, the vital health parameters of the two adults who were administered the Oxford University developed Covid-19 vaccine have been found normal, news agency PTI reported. The two adults aged 32 and 48 were administered the Covid-19 vaccine as part of the phase 2 trials at a Pune based health facility on Wednesday.

Dr Jitendra Oswal, Deputy Medical director at Bharti Vidyapeeth’s Medical College and Hospital told PTI that a team of doctors has been in touch with both the adults since Wednesday and both the adults are completely fine. He also said that none of the individuals have shown any signs of pain, fever, injection side reactions or systematic illness. The second dose of the vaccine which has been developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca will be administered to the adults after a period of one month, Oswal further said.

Oswal also said that after the individuals were administered with the vaccine, both were under strict scrutiny for the initial 30 minutes after which they were allowed to go back to their homes. He further said that apart from the regular feedback which is being collected by a separate team, the individuals have also been provided with the emergency contact numbers to contact the hospital staff in case of any emergency.

Apart from the two individuals who have been given the first dose of the vaccine, another 23 volunteers will be administered the vaccine at the facility in the next seven days, Oswal said. Dr Sonali Palkar, who is the in-charge of the medical college’s research cell said that some four to five candidates had been screened by the hospital on Wednesday and the decision to administer the vaccine to them will be taken after their antibodies and Covid-19 test reports have come in.

In India, the production of the vaccine is being done by the Serum Institute of India which has clinched deals with top Covid-19 vaccine candidates including Oxford University to test, produce and supply the vaccine in the country.