First Day Scenario of COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Trials in Bandung

TEMPO.CO, Bandung - The research team at the Padjadjaran University (Unpad) Medical Faculty would start the first day of the COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials by examining prospective volunteers. Each of the total six designated places would accommodate 20-25 people whose age and domicile had been verified.

“Based on the simulation results, the examination will start from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” said the research team leader Kusnandi Rusmil on Sunday, August 9.

According to him, the team had managed the volunteers’ arrival to prevent crowds. They would be given a queue number and the scheduled time so that they would not wait too long in the areas.

Volunteers would also be provided with complete information related to the research, including their rights and obligations. They would be asked to sign a contract should they agree to participate and then pass a health screening and an interview with the research doctor.

The other examination is swab tests, which the result would come back in the next one to three days, the clinical trial manager Eddy Fadlyana added. Should the result turn out negative, they are allowed to be injected with the vaccine candidate from China’s Sinovac Biotech.

Rapid tests would also be mandatory for research purposes, instead of diagnostics. The initial examination would be held in five locations starting Tuesday, August 11, and the antibody injection would begin on Friday, August 14.

The examination in the Unpad Medical School Hospital, meanwhile, would be expedited today, August 10, and the injection would be set on Tuesday, August 11, due to the planned visit of President Joko Jokowi Widodo to witness the process of phase III clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine.

Read also: Six COVID-19 Vaccine Candidates Now in Phase-3 Trials: WHO

ANWAR SISWADI