Wide-scale irregularities reported in administration of Sinopharm vaccine in Sindh

KARACHI: Wide scale irregularities in administration of vaccination in Sindh have come to the forefront, including administering the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine to people over 60 years of age, non frontline health workers and totally unrelated people, sources confirmed to The News.

The incident being widely reported in media regarding the administration of the Sinopharm vaccine on Saturday to the daughter and son-in-law of the former Sindh Governor and the spokesman for PML Vice President Maryam Safdar, Mohammad Zubair. The couple were administered the vaccine on Feb 6, at the Adult Vaccination Center of Ojha campus of Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), by a deputy district officer of the District East. The former governor’s daughter also happens to be the niece of the head of National Command and Operation Center, Federal Minister Asad Umar. The PML-N leader has categorically denied any connection to the administration of vaccines to his daughter and son-in-law.

Sources confirmed to the scribe that for the last three days, the NCOC Islamabad has been receiving complaints of wide ranging irregularities in the administration of coronavirus vaccine by the Sindh government due to which many “influentials but unrelated people” have benefitted. According to the complaints, several non frontline health workers, some influential people and their families were reportedly vaccinated in connivance with the officials of local health departments, besides those over 60 were also administered the vaccine. According to NCOC guidelines, the vaccine cannot be given to anyone over 60 years or under 18 years. This guideline however is in stark contradiction to the global practice where primarily those over 60 years of age are being administered the coronavirus vaccines.

Following the complaints, the Sindh health department swiftly suspended Deputy District Officer of the District East Dr. Aneela Qureshi for allegedly violating the SOPs, helping non-healthcare workers in getting the COVID-19 vaccine at the Adult Vaccination Center of Ojha Campus of Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) and directed her to report to the health department. Besides, an inquiry committee led-by Fayyaz Hussain Abbasi, the provincial coordinator of the Emergency Operation Center for polio, was also constituted to investigate the violations of SOPs by Dr Aneela Qureshi within three days, said a notification issued on Sunday.

The provincial health department also established a Vaccine Audit Committee to probe SOP violations comprising Director General Health Sindh Dr. Irshad Memon, Project Director EPI Sindh Dr. Akram Sultan and Deputy Secretary Health Zaheer Abbas Mir to check irregularities in the vaccination process, conduct visits of vaccination centers and inspect their operations.

The committee was further tasked with conducting audit of the vaccines administered to the frontline healthcare workers, keep record of every vaccine vial and also keep record of the wasted vaccine doses. The committee was assigned the task to identify the loopholes in the COVID-19 vaccination process, take remedial measures and present its report on weekly basis to the health department.

The Sindh health department on Sunday directed administrations of all the Adult Vaccination Centers (AVCs) not to vaccinate any healthcare worker above the age of 60 and those who have not been sent a pin code from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) with COVID-19.

“We have received clear instructions from NCOC, Islamabad that nobody above the age of 60 should be vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccine at Adult Vaccination Centers (AVCs). Today some senior health officials tried to get the vaccination but they were denied,” a senior official of the health department told The News.

The official further said clear instructions have been issued to the administrations of all the AVCs that only those healthcare workers, who would be having pin code from the NADRA, would be vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccination, which is only meant for frontline healthcare workers who are upto 60 years of age and added that officials violating the SOPs would have to face departmental action.

Meanwhile, senior healthcare workers above the age of 60 years have expressed their disappointment over the NCOC instructions that they should not be vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccine, arguing that people above 60 years were being vaccinated on priority basis in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other countries with Chinese vaccine Sinopharm.

“Today, Vice Chancellor of a public sector health University in Karachi was denied COVID-19 vaccine on the pretext that he is above the age of 60 and as per instructions, such people can’t be vaccinated even if they are frontline healthcare workers”, a senior doctor told The News and added that due to this policy, senior healthcare professionals were highly disappointed. The doctor said during the first three days, several senior doctors above the age of 60 years managed to get themselves inoculated but on Sunday, when some of the senior doctors who were Vice Chancellors and senior medical professors, went to get themselves vaccinated at the adult vaccination center at Khaliqdina Hall, they were denied vaccination by the staff.