Vaccines worth Rs5m stolen from office

Five-member committee formed to probe incident

LAHORE:

As many as 4,710 vials of vaccines, including anti-snake and rabies drugs, were reportedly stolen from the District Health Office in Layyah.

The theft of the vaccines, which are valued at Rs5 million was discovered two days after the incident.

Suspicious activities were initially detected through the office's CCTV cameras.

Following an investigation, it was revealed that the vaccines were taken from the cold chain freezer and no signs of forced entry were found. Amid suspicions of involvement by health office employees, an initial inquiry was conducted by District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Ghulam Mohiuddin, involving medicine storekeepers Khalid Naeem, Azam Ansari, and Naseer Abdullah.

In response to the incident, Health CEO Dr Shahid Riaz has formed a five-member inquiry committee to investigate and determine the elements responsible.

The committee, chaired by Dr Mohammad Yasin Kaliya and including Drug Inspector Adnan Kamal, Office Superintendent Muhammad Yaqoob, District Polio Focal Person Ali Ahmed and District Superintendent Vaccination Javed Munir, will make recommendations within seven days.

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Health CEO has also contacted city police to file a case regarding the theft.

CEO Health also addressed a letter to the city police to file a case, in which it is written that the incident came to his knowledge on October 25. Around 4,650 dog bite vaccine vials and 60 snake bite vaccine vials were not available in storage upon inspection.

In this regard, when contacted, Dr Riaz said that an initial inquiry was launched as soon as the matter came to light. The vaccines were sent by Health DG for supply to various centers. Dr Riaz expressed hope that the matter will be investigated promptly and the stolen vaccines will be recovered.

It is worth noting that dog and snake bite vaccines are relatively rare and sometimes sold on the black market. One vial of the dog bite vaccine is estimated to cost between Rs1,000 and Rs1,200, while a vial of snake bite vaccine exceeds Rs3,000 in price.

The alleged theft, estimated at over Rs5 million, raises concerns about the security of government offices and the role of watchmen stationed at such facilities.

In a similar incident, more than 8,000 files were stolen from the domicile branch of AC Office Layyah during the Eidul Azha holidays.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2023.