New Delhi: The Health Minister of Haryana, Anil Vij tested positive for COVID-19 even after getting a trial dose of Bharat Bioptech's vaccine candidate against the deadly virus. He has asked everyone who came in close contact with him to get tested for the deadly coronavirus.
Vij tested positive on Saturday. He shared the information via Twitter.
"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," Vij tweeted.
However, earlier in November, Vij took the trial dose of Covaxin, the vaccine candidate of Bharat Biotech against the coronavirus. He was administered the third phase trial dose of the vaccine candidate at a hospital in Ambala. He also shared that he was the first in Haryana to volunteer himself for the vaccine trial.
Vij is first in the state, and also the first among all the Cabinet ministers of all the state governments to volunteer for the vaccine trial.
However, clarifying its stand on Minister Vij's news of getting COVID positive, the vaccine maker, Bharat Biotech said that the clinical trial of Covaxin is based on a 2-dose routine. These two doses are administered 28-days apart. The company said in a statement that the efficacy of the vaccine can only be determined after 14 days of taking the second dose. It is only effective if the subject has received both the doses of the vaccine.
Vij tested positive 15 days after taking the first dose, which means, he tested positive even before he took the second dose of vaccine.
Bharat Biotech's Covaxin had its third phase trial among 26,000 volunteers from across 25 centres in India.