Bengal minister Firhad Hakim becomes first volunteer in Kolkata for Covaxin Phase 3 trials

West Bengal urban development minister and administrator of Kolkata Municipal Corporation Firhad Hakim became the second minister of a state government in the country to be administered with a shot of Covaxin, India’s first indigenous COVID-19 vaccine candidate whose Phase III trial started on Wednesday. He became the first volunteer to be administered with the shot in Kolkata. He underwent necessary check-ups to see if he was fit for the shot.

Firhad Hakim took to Twitter to write: “The fight against COVID is the biggest challenge for us now & finding its vaccine is of the utmost importance. Today as a soldier of my leader @MamataOfficial, I became the first person in Kolkata to take the trial of the vaccine.”

The trial started in Kolkata’s ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED). “I feel lucky to be part of the trial. I feel fine after taking the shot, and I don’t care even if I were to die while taking part in the trial,” Hakim said, adding that he is happy to contribute to anything that helps in doing away with coronavirus.

Before Hakim, Haryana health minister Anil Vij was administered with a Covaxin shot last month as part of the vaccine’s clinical trial.