The vaccine against Covid-19 that is being developed by the Oxford University has entered its third phase and researchers have said their have attained encouraging results so far. Data of the Phase 2 trials of this vaccine will be published in the Lancet next week.
In this backdrop of this positive development, India Today TV interviewed Deepak Paliwal, a Jaipur born Indian currently living in London who participated in the human trials for the Oxford University vaccine.
Speaking about his experience of volunteering for this cause, Deepak Paliwal said he got to hear about the call for volunteers from a friend and signed up.
“I registered myself thinking that maybe I will be the lucky one to participate if all goes well. There was a big screening that lasted for nearly three hours. A week later, I got a call saying I have been selected and if I would like to volunteer for the vaccine trails,” Deepak said.
Explaining the stages of the trails, he said the volunteers were divided into three groups. A group of 500 volunteers were given a single shot of the Covid vaccine, 500 were given one shot of meningitis vaccine (which has been in the market for some time), and there were 10 people who were given a double shot of the Covid vaccine.
“I was among the 10 people to get the double shot. The first shot was given on May 11. After the shot, I was observed for three hours to see if there are any adverse or immediate effects of the vaccine. The second shot was given a week later,” he said.
Asked if there were any symptoms that he suffered after getting the shots, Deepak said there were any, except the pain when the shot is given and mild fever that is common with most vaccines.
“I was fine and there was nothing to worry about after the shot. I continued with my normal life as before,” he said, adding that the researchers did not impose any restrictions on his lifestyle in the weeks following the trials.
Responding to a question on his thoughts during the entire process, Deepak said, “I was not worrying about whether it will be a success of not. I was happy to be part of an effort. I am happy that I did my part.” For more, watch the full video of this interview.
