"These 17 volunteers were selected and they were given the first dose of vaccine now. They will be put under observation and then they will be given another dose of vaccine after 21 days," Raut said as quoted by the media.
The health care specialist added that the volunteers were thoroughly examined before they received the vaccine.
"This is part of phase 2 trial of Sputnik vaccine and all volunteers underwent various tests before they undergo vaccination," Raut said.
The media outlet added that, after the second trial phase was over, Noble Hospital would start the third phase that would include about 1,500 volunteers.
In late November, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said that India would produce 100 million doses of Sputnik V every year. On December 1, Indian pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy's Laboratories said that it has started "adaptive phase 2/3 clinical trials" for Sputnik V vaccine in India.
In August, Russia became the first country to register a COVID-19 vaccine, which was named Sputnik V. The clinical trials of the Sputnik V vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya research institute, have demonstrated that its efficacy rate is over 90 percent.
According to Johns Hopkins University, India has confirmed 32,981 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, with the total number of infections reaching 9,677,203. India comes second in terms of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, following the United States that have confirmed 14,757,000 infections.
