Nawaz Sharif’s fake vaccination: Punjab govt suspends health officers

• Report submitted to CM Punjab highlights hospital's lapses.
• Punjab govt suspends two senior health officials.
• Hospital's watchman and ward boys were assigned the task to enter the data. 

LAHORE: The Punjab government has suspended the Medical Superintendent (MS) and a senior doctor of Lahore’s Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital in a case relating to the fake vaccination entry of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

The suspended officers have been directed to report to the health department immediately.

Moreover, cases have been registered against three employees of the hospital involved in the fake entry of the coronavirus vaccination. Two of those nominated in the FIR have been arrested. 

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the police have registered separate cases in this regard.

According to 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.

Report submitted to CM Buzdar

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 4:03 pm 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.