Updated: December 5, 2020 5:17:21 pm
Haryana’s Health Minister Anil Vij received the Covaxin vaccine on November 20 (File photo).
Just two weeks after he was given a test injection of Covaxin from Bharat Biotech, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij tested positive for the novel on Saturday. The 67-year-old BJP veteran is diabetic and had recently undergone surgery for a fractured femur. He had volunteered to participate in the human phase trials of the vaccine, in which more than 25,000 people were given test doses.
Announcing that he had tested positive for Covid-19, Vij tweeted: “I was tested positive. I am admitted to the Ambala Cantt Civil Hospital. All those who have been in contact with me are advised to take the crown test ”.
I got a positive Corona test. I am admitted to the Ambala Cantt Civil Hospital. Everyone who has been in contact with me is advised to get a crown test.
– ANIL VIJ MINISTER HARYANA (@anilvijminister) December 5, 2020
Health department officials said Vij was under close surveillance by a team of doctors and that his health parameters were fine.
On November 20, Vij was the first in Haryana to participate in the Covaxin trials. In addition to Vij, more than 400 people from Haryana, including Vice Chancellor Dr. OP Kalra of Rohtak PGIMS, also participated in the third phase of human trials and injected themselves with the vaccine.
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A team from the Rohtak Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences had administered the vaccine to Vij at Ambala Cantonment civil hospital. His health and vital signs have been monitored weekly, ever since.
Anil Vij with Haryana CM ML Khattar and Baba Ramev on December 2, 2020. (Twitter / @ cmohry)
Vij had been going to his office at the Haryana Civil Registry regularly since November 20. He has not taken official accommodation and has stayed at his residence in Ambala. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, security personnel have prevented the public from visiting his residence. However, he still met with a considerable number of people and listened to their complaints on a daily basis.
On Friday, a three-member delegation from the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), led by the party’s head of state, Nishan Singh, Dushyant Chautala’s younger brother, Digvijay Chautala, and another JJP leader, Randhir Singh, had gathered with Vij in his office. Several journalists had also met regularly with Vij at the Haryana Civil Secretariat for informational meetings and interactions with the Minister of Health and Home.
Three days ago, Vij had met with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and several high-level bureaucrats. She also met yoga guru Baba Ramdev and the two had shared photos of each other. After the Vij and Ramdev meetings, the Haryana government announced that it would introduce Yoga as one of the subjects in the school’s curriculum for the next academic session.
Anil Vij with Baba Ramdev.
After receiving the Covaxin test injection for, Vij had said: “It is a source of pride for all Indians that Bharat Biotech is creating an indigenous vaccine for Covid-19. I had volunteered to become one of the participants in the third phase for people to get rid of their fears and volunteer. With this, the entire vaccine development process will be streamlined. Today, people are facing so much hardship due to this ongoing pandemic, people cannot attend family functions, cannot go out to meet loved ones, children cannot go to their schools / universities, no they can go out to see movies in the movie theaters, the buses are empty. People want to get rid of this pandemic as soon as possible. That is why I volunteered to get the vaccine. “
He added: “I have full faith in the ability and skill of our doctors. The first two trials that were carried out were for restricted categories. But this third phase of the trial is open even to people in the high-risk category. I was not afraid for a minute. I got vaccinated and came to the office and I have resumed my work like any other routine day for me… The doctors kept me under observation for an hour and then they let me go. They checked my blood pressure and took blood samples. They will monitor my health for a year and will have several blood tests every month. I do not have any problem with that. Doctors can do any test on me, whenever they want. We have created a facility in Rohtak PGIMS and people can go there and volunteer to receive the test dose of the vaccine. I want the trials to be completed quickly. “
Anil Vij with the JJP delegation.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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