Vaccination against COVID-19 at the National Medical College of Birgunj has been postponed following a dispute over unauthorised administration of vaccines to people of other age groups instead of the selected ones.
According to Nawal Kishor Shah, Chief of District Health Office (DHO), Parsa, the vaccination campaign was postponed on Friday following a dispute with hospital management.
A team of four health workers and volunteers were administering vaccines to the students of the college and the people aged 62-64 years. The dispute occurred when the hospital management forced the volunteers to inoculate people of other age group and relatives of hospital staffers.
On Friday, 190 vaccines were administered, but the official record showed only141 persons received the jabs while record of 49 persons was hidden, according to Shah.
He said they had a target to vaccinate 300 to 400 college students and staffers. When the health workers refused to vaccinate those who were not on the list submitted by the Medical College to the DHO, the hospital administration exerted pressure on the staffers and even did not allow them to leave the vaccination centre.
“The team of the health workers deployed at the vaccination centre of the college had initially taken 150 doses of vaccine and later again took additional 100 doses, but even after vaccinating 190 people, they submitted only141 recipients’ list hiding the records of 49 persons,” Chief Shah told The Rising Nepal. “We requested the police to intervene and rescue the health workers.”
The health workers complained that college management misbehaved with them in front of the police. The police team from the District Police Office (DPO) Parsa rescued the health workers from the college premises.
After the health workers insisted that they would administer vaccines only to the students as planned and not to the unauthorised people, the hospital employees put pressure on them to vaccinate their relatives, preventing them from leaving the college, said DSP Om Prakash Khanal. “After police received information, a team reached the college and rescued the health workers.”
With coordination of the local administration and the police, the DHO would vaccinate about 200 college students outside the college on Tuesday, informed Shah.
“Today, we held a meeting and decided to administer the vaccines to only college students as we have no stock of additional vaccines,” Shah told The Rising Nepal on Sunday.
Source : THE RISING NEPAL,
