A group of health workers is being investigated for allegedly running a parallel Covid-19 vaccination centre at the Silchar civil hospital in Assam without following the proper procedures and charging up to 2,000 rupees per dose. Officials said on Tuesday that they failed to keep track of at least 80 people who received a Covishield shot.
The entire operation came under scrutiny on Tuesday afternoon, when the presence of a mixed crowd inside a hospital room sparked suspicion, prompting some staff members of the district’s additional chief medical & health office to raise concerns. Sarbani Roy and Swarnajit Paul then admitted to giving Covid-19 vaccines to unregistered recipients and failing to keep track of them. They claimed, however, that they were acting on orders from higher-ups.
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.”
Sarbani Roy said she had recently started working at a civil hospital in Silchar and had been “ordered” to vaccinate people without any verification. “On Monday, we vaccinated about 50 people, and today we vaccinated 30 people. A health worker gave me vaccine vials, but I don’t know his name. I am a single mother who relies on this job to support my family. I’m not sure if what I’m doing is legal.”
Sumit Sattavan, additional deputy commissioner (health), Cachar district, has ordered a probe into vaccine mismanagement. “Within 24 hours, action will be taken against the officials involved in this case,” Sattavan said.
A 55-year-old Silchar resident who received the vaccine without registering said he paid 2,000 for a dose. “I got the first dose of the vaccine, but I’m a little worried about the second dose.”
According to a report by the Union Health Ministry, Assam has the second highest rate of vaccine dose wastage, after Haryana, which has a rate of 6.49 percent.
