Health dept official offers fake vaccination card for Rs2,000 in Karachi

KARACHI:  The corrupt officials of the health department have taken National Database and Registration Authority's (NADRA) software for vaccination records as a source of income, as they allegedly issued fake vaccination certificates in exchange for bribes in Karachi.

A video obtained by Geo News showed a health department official allegedly offering a vaccination card to a citizen for Rs2000.

The official can be heard telling the citizen that may have the satisfaction and check the records before paying for the fake certificate. 

According to Geo News, the citizen sent the National Identity Card number of the deceased person to 1166 and got a vaccine registration code as well.

The fake NADRA vaccination record seen by Geo News showed a deceased person, Abdul Nadeem, as vaccinated on August 16, 2021, at the Urban Health Centre. The record falsely states he was administered the first dose of a Sinopharm vaccine.

Nadeem had passed away around two and a half years ago, on February 19, 2019, according to the death certificate, also seen by Geo News.

The development raises the question of whether the Pakistan-wide vaccination figures being shared by the federal government can be considered the actual count.