Kanpur: A 35-year-old Home Guard jawan in Kanpur district has offered himself for human trial of COVID-19 vaccine. The Home Guard has been identified as Akash Gupta, a resident of Juhi locality on Kanpur-Hamirpur road. The father of two, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to allow him to fulfil the ‘noble desire’.
Willing volunteer
“I saw on TV how researchers are testing vaccines on animals because no human is willing to come forward. It was then that I decided to volunteer for the cause. There can be no greater service towards this country and humanity,” Gupta said.
“Everyday millions of people in the world are getting infected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is claiming thousands of lives. In this hour of crisis, the country’s scientists need specimens for human trial. It is needed to develop a vaccine against coronavirus. So I am ready to give my body for this experiment,” added Gupta who has two sons aged five and 10 years.
For a cause
Gupta also said it would be a privilege to become a specimen for human trial. “I would be grateful if the concerned authorities use my body to develop the vaccine. Even if I lose my life in this testing, it won’t matter,” asserted the Home Guard jawan. “I am ready to sacrifice my life so that the lives of crores of people around the world can be saved,” he added.
The Home Guards are a volunteer paramilitary force functioning as an auxiliary to the state police.
PTI