Parliament’s Monsoon Session: 25 MPs test positive for COVID-19 on Day 1

As many as 17 Lok Sabha Members of Parliament (MPs) and eight Rajya Sabha MPs have tested positive for COVID-19 on the first day of the Monsoon Session.

The Lok Sabha MPs, 12 of whom belong to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had been tested on September 13-14 ahead of the session. Two MPs belonging to the YSR Congress Party and one each from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and the Shiv Sena.

However, the RLP MP, Hanuman Beniwal claimed in a tweet that he had tested negative for COVID-19 in a test conducted at a hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament began on September 14.

After the routine Parliament test for COVID & genome test it’s confirmed that I have tested positive for the virus. I am currently in good health & spirits. I request everyone who has been recently in contact with me to get tested. Together We will fight & defeat Corona

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

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How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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— Meenakashi Lekhi (@M_Lekhi) September 14, 2020

Parliament had made major changes to its procedures to accommodate COVID-19 safety norms. Only those with a negative COVID-19 report were to be granted entry to the premises. The negative report is to be based on a test conducted within the previous 72 hours.

The two Houses are sitting in shifts instead of sitting simultaneously, without any off days. This is to make way for a special seating arrangement to help MPs adhere to social distancing guidelines. Between the two shifts, the entire complex will be sanitised.

The Upper and Lower House, together, have more than 780 members at present. Seats of MPs in both chambers have been partitioned using plastic sheets.

Only MPs and union ministers are being allowed inside the main building. Necessary seating arrangements have been made for separate sitting of their personal staff in the complex.