According to news reports, over 434,000 covid vaccines are missing in Punjab. As shown by the official data, Punjab received 22.5 million doses of vaccine out of which the authorities administered only 20 million jabs to date.
As per statistical data, the provincial government should have a stock of over 2,520,000. However, the Punjab government recorded that currently, it has a stock of over 2068,000 doses. This means that there is a disparity of more than 434,000 jabs of the vaccine and there was no record of them.
There are concerns regarding the missing vaccines as Covid cases are once again on the rise in Pakistan. To control the Covid situation, the government gave the deadline to the population to get vaccinated by August 31st.
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However, with vaccines going missing, the country may face a vaccine shortage.
On the issue of missing vaccines in Punjab, the relevant health departments denied all such claims and said they have a complete record of the vaccines procured and administered. The authorities will update the record in all districts along with doses of the coronavirus vaccine administered.
Vaccines go missing in Lahore
This is not the first time Punjab is experiencing a vaccine scandal. Earlier this year, in Lahore, a Covid vaccine scam ran in three state-run hospitals. In April, news came that the hospitals allegedly administered vaccines to unauthorized persons. People also accused the hospitals of wasting many vials of vaccines.
According to reports, nearly 1,400 doses of the vaccine donated by China were administered to the ‘unauthorized’ persons’ or gone ‘missing’. As a result, the hospitals came under fire for the scam.
Hundreds of Covid vaccine doses have gone missing from three major government hospitals in Lahore – and have been administered out of turn to VIPs
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) April 2, 2021
As per an anonymous source, the accused hospitals administered vaccines to celebrities, including parents of the ministers and other individuals of the ruling elite.
However, a senior doctor belonging to one of the hospitals denied all allegations.
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Karachi’s vaccine scam
Last month, a police investigation confirmed the involvement of Sindh Health Department officials in Karachi’s vaccine scam.
The Karachi police arrested two suspects and recovered 513 empty vials of vaccines from their possession. The vaccines included Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Cansino.
The police also found documents showing that 60 people received the Pfizer vaccine illegally. The accused sold Sinopharm, Sinovac, Pfizer vaccines for Rs. 7,500 to Rs. 15,000.
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