A 42-year-old man who had taken part in the trial of Covaxin, the indigenous coronavirus vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech, died nine days later in Bhopal, officials said.
While doctors suspect that poisoning could be the cause, Bharat Biotech said in a statement that “preliminary reviews” indicate that the death was unrelated to the vaccine trial.
Dr Rajesh Kapur, Vice Chancellor, People’s Medical College and Hospital where the trial was conducted, told PTI that Deepak Marawi, the deceased, had participated in the Covaxintria on December 12. He died nine days later. Bharat Biotech said in a statement that Marawi had fulfilled “all the inclusion and exclusion criteria to be accepted as a participant in the Phase III trial”.
He was reported to be healthy in follow-up calls post seven days of his dosing and no adverse reaction was observed or reported, the Hyderabad-based company said.
“The volunteer passed away nine days after the dosing and preliminary reviews by the site indicate that the death is unrelated to the study dosing. We cannot confirm if the volunteer received the study vaccine or a placebo as the study is blinded,” it added.