New Delhi: Barely two weeks after being administered a trial vaccine shot of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, Haryana’s Health Minister Anil Vij Saturday tested positive of the novel coronavirus. The 67-year-old BJP veteran is diabetic, and had recently undergone a surgery for a thigh bone fracture. He had volunteered to participate in the vaccine’s human phase trials, in which over 25,000 persons were administered trial doses.
Announcing that he had tested positive for Covid-19, Vij tweeted: “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.”
Health department officials said Vij was under close surveillance by a team of doctors, and his health parameters were fine.
On November 20, Vij was the first in Haryana to participate in Covaxin’s trials. Besides Vij, over 400 persons from Haryana, including Rohtak PGIMS’ Vice Chancellor Dr. OP Kalra, too participated in the third phase human trials and took the vaccine shot.
A team of Rohtak Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences had administered the vaccine to Vij at Ambala Cantonment’s civil hospital. His health and vitals were being monitored on a weekly basis, ever since.
Vij had been going to his office at Haryana Civil Secretariat regularly since November 20. He has not taken the official accommodation, and has been staying at his residence in Ambala. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the public has been curtailed from visiting his residence by his security staff. However, he was still meeting a substantial number of people and hearing their grievances on a daily basis.
On Friday, a three-member delegation from the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), led by the party’s state chief Nishan Singh, Dushyant Chautala’s younger brother Digvijay Chautala and another JJP leader Randhir Singh, had met Vij at his office. Various journalists, too, had been regularly meeting Vij at the Haryana Civil Secretariat for briefings and interactions with the home-cum-health minister.
Three days ago, Vij had met Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and various top bureaucrats. He also met Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and both had shared pictures hugging each other. After Vij and Ramdev’s meetings, the Haryana government had announced that it would introduce Yoga as one of the subjects in the school curriculum from the next academic session.
