Actor-turned-director Churni Ganguly has expressed her willingness to participate in the vaccine trial that is being conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Ganguly, director of National Award-winning film ‘Nirbashito’, sent an email after reading about the scheduled-start of phase I/II of human clinical trials of the indigenously developed Covid-19 vaccine candidate ‘Covaxin’ on Monday.
On Mothers’ Day this year, Ganguly had put up a Facebook post stating that if she met the “required parameters”, she would want to “offer” herself for human trials of Covid-19 vaccines. “We did not become mothers to see this day,” Ganguly’s May 10 post had read.
According to the norms, volunteers should have no co-morbid conditions and should not have a history of Covid-19. The criterion also mentions that those between 18 and 55 years would be eligible to participate in the randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. On July 20, Ganguly sent an email offering herself as a volunteer.
Speaking to TOI, Ganguly said, “Ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, I knew that the vaccine is the only way out.” However, she didn’t disclose her intentions of offering herself for human trial to her family before writing her Mother’s Day post on Facebook. “I feared my husband and son might talk me out of it. So, I asked them to read the post after I had written it,” she said. Thankfully, both supported her. On Monday, she again informed them after having sent the mail. “I have expressed my willingness. Now, I will wait to find out if I meet the criteria,” she added.
Source: Times of India
