Rajasthan Shocker: 320 Doses Of COVID Vaccine Covaxin Reportedly Stolen From Jaipur Hospital
In a shocking incident, a batch of 320 doses of Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, was stolen from a hospital in Rajasthan's Jaipur.?An FIR has been registered by the hospital administration in this regard.
How did it happen?
32 vials of Covaxin were stolen on way to the vaccine centre from the cold storage. A vial of the Covaxin contains 10 doses of the vaccine and 32 vials contained 320 doses of the vaccine that went missing during transit.?The incident took place at the Kanwatiya Hospital in Shastri Nagar of Jaipur. The hospital superintendent has registered a case with the police.?
Chief Medical Officer Narottam Sharma said, "320 doses have gone missing from the hospital. We have sought a probe into the incident and have lodged a case with the police.""We were shocked to see that 320 vaccine doses have gone missing from the hospital," said the hospital official.
The probe
The FIR had been lodged in the case after the hospital staff failed to locate the vaccine. The case has been registered under Section 380 (Whoever commits theft in any building, tent or vessel) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Meanwhile, the probe has been handed over to Head constable Harnath Singh. Male nurse Hiralal Verma had filed the complaint about the missing vaccine at the Shastri Nagar police station.The FIR has been filed against unidentified persons. Meanwhile, a report said the health department will probe the case of the missing vaccine. There are fears that the vaccine might be sold on the black market.?
The suspected theft of the COVID vaccine comes amid reports of a shortage of vaccine doses in several parts of the country.
Is there a shortage?
Last week, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot raised a hue and cry over vaccine shortage in the state and said Rajasthan has insufficient stocks to carry on with the vaccination drive.Ashok Gehlot had said that the number of Covid-19 doses available in Rajasthan is insufficient to carry on vaccination and the drive will have to be stopped in many districts.
He also said that the Centre's claim of no shortage of Covid-19 vaccines in the country is wrong and demanded that a status report on the availability of doses be made public.
Earlier on March 8, Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma had claimed shortage of the vaccine against the coronavirus disease in the state. COVID-19 vaccination is being done free of cost at all government hospitals. While Rs 250 are being charged at private hospitals.
Govt fast tracks emergency approvals?
Meanwhile, the central government has fast-tracked the acquisition of COVID-19 vaccine from other countries. The Centre on Tuesday said that it is fast-tracking emergency approvals for foreign-produced vaccines as COVID-19 cases continue to spike at an unprecedented rate in the country.
The government's move is part of the strategy to have more vaccines to speed up COVID-19 vaccination coverage. On Monday, the government approved Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in the country. The approval was granted by India¡¯s Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
