For removing misconceptions: COVID-19 vaccination should start from PM, other VIPs, says PAC chief

ISLAMABAD: Public Accounts Committee Chairman Rana Tanveer Hussain suggested that vaccination for COVID-19 should be started from the prime minister and other prominent personalities to remove the misconceptions about the corona vaccination.

The Public Accounts Committee meeting chaired by Rana Tanveer Hussain was held Thursday in which the audit paras related to the Ministry of National Health Services for the year 2019-20 were examined.

The PAC chairman said there were many misconceptions among the people about the COVID-19 vaccination and they avoid it due to misconceptions and it should be better that prime minister and other prominent personalities should get vaccinated to set an example for people as well as remove the misconceptions. Senator Mushahid Hussain said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the first one who got vaccinated in Turkey.

While briefing the PAC on vaccination of COVID-19, the Ministry of National Health Services told the Committee that Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine available in Pakistan is effective to 83 percent and good thing is that it develops anti-bodies. The Committee was told that one million doses of Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine have reached country and health workers were vaccinated. Ministry of National Health Services officials told the Committee that another COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca’s vaccine was also available in the country which was 75 percent effective. The officials told the Committee that according to survey the anti-bodies started to develop in 13 percent of the population. The officials informed the PAC that it has been targeted that 70 million Pakistanis will be vaccinated by the end of the current year and so far around 275,000 health workers were vaccinated. An online registration of elderly persons of over 65 years of age has started. It also informed the sub-committee that another COVID-19 vaccine GAVI from India will also be available. To the query of the members of the PAC, the officials of the Ministry of National Health Services told the Committee that GAVI has promised to provide vaccine for 20 percent of the population in the country and it is expected that 16 million doses will be available by June this year. While examining the audit paras related to Ministry of National Health Services, the audit officials told the Committee that the record of the PMDC was not provided to the audit department. PAC chairman directed to fix the responsibility in this connection. The officials of Pakistan Medical Council (PMC) said the previous management of the department did not provide the record to the audit department. Examining another audit para regarding non-recovery from the ex-officials of PMC by the NAB, the NAB officials said recovery of Rs40 million was still to be made as the accused is absconder and owns a house in DHA Lahore. PAC chairman directed the NAB to approach court to seize moveable and immovable property. While examining another audit para, the audit officials told the Committee over the prescription of issuance of over 400 drugs prescriptions and 28 prescriptions were found fake. Secretary Ministry of National Health Services told the Committee that the investigations have been ordered on it. Examining the audit para, the PAC directed the Ministry of National Health Services to form a committee comprising PIMS administration and Pak PWD to investigate the awarding of the contract of maintenance work at PIMS worth Rs140 million by bifurcating the contract in lots of Rs500,000. The PAC observed that bifurcation of contract of Rs140 million lots of Rs500,000 is open cheating and it should be investigated.