Haryana minister Anil Vij tweeted on December 5 that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been admitted to a hospital.
The health minister was administered a dose of Covaxin, being developed by the Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), at a hospital in Ambala on November 20 as part of the third phase of the trial.
Vij (67), who is also Haryana’s home minister, urged all those who had come in contact with him recently to get tested.
I have been tested Corona positive. I am admitted in Civil Hospital Ambala Cantt. All those who have come in close contact to me are advised to get themselves tested for corona.
— ANIL VIJ MINISTER HARYANA (@anilvijminister) December 5, 2020
“I have been tested Corona positive. I am admitted in Civil Hospital Ambala Cantt. All those who have come in close contact to me are advised to get themselves tested for corona (sic),” the Haryana minister tweeted.
Vij is a senior leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is a legislator from Ambala Cantt assembly constituency.
Haryana minister was volunteer for COVID-19 vaccine trial
Earlier, Vij had offered to be the first volunteer in the phase three trials for the potential coronavirus vaccine Covaxin. This is India’s first Phase 3 efficacy study for a coronavirus vaccine, and the largest Phase 3 efficacy trial ever conducted.
Covaxin, a potential vaccine against the novel coronavirus, is being developed indigenously by Bharat Biotech along with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The vaccine maker had earlier announced that it successfully completed an interim analysis of Phase 1 and 2 trials and is working on Phase 3 trials.
