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Unauthorised vaccination site at Assam govt hospital busted, probe ordered
Assam health department authorities ordered an investigation into Covid-19 vaccine mismanagement and promised action within 24 hours.
A group of health workers is being probed for allegedly running a parallel Covid-19 vaccination centre at Silchar civil hospital in Assam without following the due process and charging as much as ₹2000 for each dose. They also didn’t keep any record of at least 80 persons who they administered a shot of Covishield, officials said on Tuesday.
Assam health department authorities claimed they found that around ten vials of vaccine were issued in the name of Urban Health Center but were instead used to vaccinate people out of turn at a parallel vaccination centre being run at the Silchar hospital. As per initial investigations, health worker Swarnajit Paul and senior nurse Sarbani Roy were found supervising the unofficial vaccination site. More than 100 used syringes and some empty vials of Covishield vaccine were found there.
The whole operation came under scanner on Tuesday afternoon when a motley crowd’s presence inside a room at the hospital raised suspicion, leading to some staff members of district’s additional chief medical & health office raising questions. Sarbani Roy and Swarnajit Paul then admitted to administering Covid-19 vaccines to unregistered beneficiaries without keeping any record. However, they claimed to be acting under orders from some senior officials.
Sarbani Roy said she had recently joined the civil hospital at Silchar and was “ordered” to vaccinate people without any verification. “We vaccinated around 50 people on Monday and 30 people today. I received vaccine vials from a health worker but I don’t know his name. I am a single mother and I have to feed my family with this job. I don’t know if this is legal or not.”
Swarnajit Paul claimed they were utilising vaccines likely to go waste as per the waste management scheme guidelines. “At least 10% of vaccines get wasted during the process of vaccination, we are allowed to vaccinate people from the half-used vials of vaccine. We started this process on Saturday under waste management but later some new vials were used.” He claimed he had received a list of people to be vaccinated from a very senior official.
Additional deputy commissioner (health), Cachar district, Sumit Sattavan has ordered an investigation into vaccine mismanagement. “Action will be taken against the officials involved in this case within 24 hours,” Sattavan said.
A 55-year-old resident of Silchar town who got a jab of the vaccine without registration said he paid ₹2000 for a dose. “I have vaccinated myself with the first dose but now [I am] a bit concerned about the second dose.”
According to a union health ministry report, at 5.92 %, wastage of vaccine doses is second highest in Assam after Haryana at 6.49%.
