New delhi: Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said that schools in Delhi will remain closed until the state government is convinced of the students' safety. "There is no plan to reopen schools (in Delhi) as of now. We are hopeful that a vaccine will be available soon," Jain told reporters.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had on Tuesday said the reopening of schools is unlikely till a vaccine is available.
While several restrictions have been eased in different 'unlock' phases, educational institutions continue to remain closed. According to 'Unlock 5' guidelines, states can take a call on reopening schools in phases. Several states had begun the process of reopening schools. However, some of them had to shut them down after cases started coming up among students.
Meanwhile, the phase-three human clinical trials of the indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate Cavxin has begun at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences here with Dr MV Padma Srivastava, the chief of Neurosciences Centre at the premier institute, and three other volunteers receiving the first dose.
'Covaxin' is being developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Dr Srivastava was the first one to receive the shot, which would be given to around 15,000 volunteers at the AIIMS over the next few days, sources said.
The first dose of 0.5 ml intramuscular injection was given to four volunteers. They were under observation for two hours and will be monitored for the next few days, a source said.
When contacted, Dr Srivastava said, "I am honoured to be the first volunteer to receive the shot. I am happy to be a part of such a great cause. I am perfectly fine and I'm working." As part of the trial application, a dose of 0.5 ml would be given on day 0 and on day 28, sources said.
The phase-three randomised double-blind placebo-controlled multi-centre trial would cover around 28,500 subjects aged 18 years and above. It would be conducted in around 25 sites across 10 states. The trial has already started at a few sites.
The safety and immunogenicity data of phases one and two trials were submitted to the central drug regulator, following which it was approved for the third phase.
(With agency inputs)