Two senior health officials suspended in Nawaz Sharif’s fake vaccination case

LAHORE: The Medical Superintendent (MS) and a senior doctor of Lahore’s Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital were suspended by the Punjab government after a report highlighted negligence of hospital management in a mtter pertaining to fake vaccination entry of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Per details, both the officers have been directed to report to the health department.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the police have registered separate cases in this regard. Two employees nominated in the FIR have been arrested following the registration of the case.

According to the details shared by the FIA cybercrime wing, watchman Abul Hassan and ward boy Adil used the ID of third employee Naveed to enter former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's fake entry into the system.

Police have registered cases against the three suspects and arrested Abul Hassan and Adil.

In addition, the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) has summoned the Punjab health secretary to Islamabad.

Provincial health authorities submit report

The provincial health authorities have prepared a report concerning the controversy and shared it with Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, highlighting lapses in the hospital's monitoring and supervision systems.

“Four employees of the hospital admitted to making the fake entry of Nawaz Sharif's data,” stated the report, adding that no senior staff was deployed at the health facility where the management had authorised lower-level staff to update the record.

A fake coronavirus vaccine entry was made using former PM Nawaz Sharif's name in the National Immunization Management System (NIMS) at the Government Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital on September 22.

As per the fake entry, Nawaz Sharif, who is currently in London, got his first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine Sinovac at 4:03pm Wednesday at the hospital.

Punjab's Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department took notice of the incident and wrote a letter to the FIA and asked it to investigate the matter and take necessary action against the culprits.