Mumbai: Oxford COVID-19 vaccine trials to begin at KEM Hospital today

The government-run KEM Hospital in Mumbai on Saturday will administer, as part of human trial, Oxford University’s Covishield vaccine for coronavirus to three persons, said hospital dean Dr Hemant Deshmukh.

“We have screened 13 persons so far including 10 today, of which three will get the first shot of Oxford University-AstraZeneca developed Covishield vaccine on Saturday,” he said.

Another person will get placebo as part of the standard testing procedure, he added.

KEM is the first hospital in Mumbai where human trials of the vaccine, being manufactured in the country by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, will begin on Saturday.