Ambala: Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij was given a trial dose of the corona Vaccine, a home-grown vaccine to prevent coronavirus, here on Friday. He is the first person in the state to come forward voluntarily for testing the third phase of the vaccine.
The trial of the third phase of Bharat Biotech’s covicin started in the state from Friday. In it, the 67-year-old BJP leader was given a test dose at the Civil Hospital in Ambala Cantt. Vij said he was the first person in the country to voluntarily take the dose in the third phase of the vaccine trial.
It is learned that Vij is the first cabinet minister of any state government to come forward voluntarily to take a test dose of a possible vaccine of Covid-19.
MLA Vij from Ambala Cantt had on Wednesday said that testing of the third phase of covacin would start from November 20 in the state and he has been offered to take its dose. This potential vaccine called covacin has been developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research.
Testing of covacin on humans started in July this year at PGIMS in Rohtak. While Vij was given the dose of vaccine, the Vice Chancellor of PGIMS, Rohtak, O. P. A team of doctors including Kalra and Dhruv Chaudhary were present there. Civil Surgeon Dr. Kuldeep Singh told reporters that Vij was successfully given a dose of covacin.
Earlier, however, the minister underwent some tests at the hospital and was kept under observation for some time before being vaccinated. However, he later worked in his office in Chandigarh. Asked if he was scared while taking the vaccine, Vij told “What is fear?”
Vij said he told his family and well-wishers that if other people could get the vaccine tested on them, why couldn’t he.
