Virologist Gagandeep Kang announces Covid-19 vaccine booster study, seeks volunteers for clinical trials

Eminent virologist Gagandeep Kang took to Twitter on Saturday to announce a clinical trial of Covid-19 vaccine booster doses.

Kang, a professor at Vellore's Christian Medical College (CMC), tweeted that she was looking for volunteers who were vaccinated with both doses of Covaxin between three to six months ago.

Also Read | Omicron: Booster shots necessary in India, says top virologist

"Need volunteers for a clinical trial. People with 2 doses of Covaxin 3-6 months ago are eligible to enrol in a booster dosing study. Folks in Vellore, Chennai, Bangalore or Delhi willing to consider participating please email [e-mail]. Please retweet-thank you," she tweeted.

While responding to a comment that suggested humans were not guinea pigs, Kang told the user that she was also a volunteer in a vaccine study and "so are several friends and family, including my mother."

"Ready and willing to be, and have my family be, figurative guinea pigs any time if it advances our scientific knowledge, potentially helping others," she said.

As India reports more cases of the Omicron variant, the government has so far yet to make an announcement on offering booster doses. The Union Health Ministry, along with the ICMR, has maintained that the priority lies in fully vaccinating the country's entire adult population against the coronavirus.

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