Ghaziabad: Covid-19 vax stolen from PHC sold for Rs 250

GREATER NOIDA: Two persons, including a ward boy of an urban primary health centre (UPHC) in Ghaziabad, have been arrested for allegedly selling Covid-19 vaccines, meant for free inoculation drives, for Rs 250 per dose.
Nineteen vaccine vials, including Covaxin, Covishield and tetanus injections, along with 155 syringes have been recovered from the two men, police said on Monday.Only four of the vials, police added, were sealed.
The accused, police said, had allegedly administered vaccines to around 20 people before the police raided their rented house around 8pm on Sunday.
As per the police, all vaccine vials had been sourced through an auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) employed at Budh Vihar UPHC.
The woman, whose role is currently being investigated, is allegedly also related to one of the accused.
In-charge of Bisrakh PHC Dr Sachindra Mishra told TOI they had received information that some people had received Covid-19 jabs on payment of Rs 250 at a house in Kheda Chauganpur village.
“The Gautam Budh Nagar CMO was informed, following which the police raided the house, belonging to one Kunwarpal, on Sunday evening and arrested two men — Ravi (35) and Sushil (30),” Mishra said.
The house owner, Kunwarpal, claimed he had rented the premises to Ravi and had no knowledge about the illegal vaccination camp, police said.
The accused, Mishra said, had mostly administered the vaccines to acquaintances and were merely noting down the names in a register. No vaccination certificates had been issued to the beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, during questioning, Sushil, who works as a ward boy at the Budh Vihar UPHC, is said to have told police that they had obtained the vaccine vials from Ravi’s sister-in-law, Renu, an ANM at the same UPHC.
A police officer told TOI that the accused possibly had stolen the vaccine vials which were given to the ANM and other officials for administering free doses to beneficiaries turning up at the urban primary health centre.
“It is possible that the accused were stealing partially used vials from the PHC or those that were shown as wasted and sold them illegally,” he said, adding that the other officials of the PHC will be questioned in the matter.
Police said the accused had vaccinated more than 20 people on September 19 in another illegal camp organised at the house.