‘Unblind the placebo group of volunteers,' says COVID vaccine trial volunteer

Karan Gupta, the 41-year-old Pedder Road resident who volunteered in Oxford vaccine trials in Mumbai

Last year, Karan Gupta signed up to take the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, named Covishield in India. The 41-year-old Pedder Road resident volunteered during the trials and took the mandatory two shots.

Gupta, who took both shots of the vaccine in September 2020 within a span of three weeks at Nair hospital, recalls that landmark moment in his life while speaking to mid-day. He also talks about self-doubt then, those who dissuaded him but with good intent, and his philosophy on vaccines.

He believes that sometimes life's bigger lessons are learnt outside the classroom and this was one of them. "There are times in life when you get just that one moment to make a difference, and you must seize it," said Gupta, who runs an education consultancy.

Excerpt from the interview:

Some people may have dissuaded you, asked why you want to take a risk.
People think like that even now. I was very clear in my head that without trial volunteers we will never have a vaccine against this pandemic. My mother asked me why I needed to volunteer. I reminded her: ‘Mom, when I was young you used to always say I will not hesitate to send my children to war if the country needs them'. I told her that this was not less than a war. She understood and accepted my decision. I needed my parent's blessings. I did my duty as a citizen of India and of the world. At Nair, it was so clean, the doctors were so clear and very professional. We were told exactly what side effects may occur and encouraged us to ask questions. People have notions and stereotypes about the BMC facilities, but my experience was excellent.

Did you have any side effects?
I did have a slight fever a day after taking the shot. My body felt heavy, my arm was swollen… and doubts started to creep in. But, we were told to expect these and were advised to take Crocin thrice a day. The effects disappeared three days after taking both the first and second shot. I was fine. Throughout, my near and dear ones checked on me. Most importantly, the doctors from the hospital were doing thorough follow ups, checking and taking updates on our health. It was 100 per cent reassuring. Today, there are people who say they do not want to take the shot, but these vaccines have been tested. Our technology today is so advanced. Younger people are rejecting the vaccine, saying the death rate is negligible, so why should they take the vaccine. They must remember though that they can infect older people, for whom recovery may be far more challenging.

Any message for our health authorities as our emergency vaccine drive rolls out?
The authorities must now ‘unblind' those who have been given placebos during the trial and give them the real shot. It is imperative we do this now. Several volunteers had been administered placebos as part of the trial groups. I am certain I was not given a placebo as I did experience certain entirely manageable side effects. The government needs to give the green signal to reveal to these volunteers that they were given placebos during the trial, and administer the vaccine to them now that we have emergency authorisation.

SEPT
Month Karan Gupta received both Covishield shots