Children’s Death: Court summons attorney general
The petitioner stated that the vaccine was not kept at the required temperature
LAHORE:
Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday summoned the attorney general of Pakistan and the advocate general of Punjab for assistance on a petition seeking a judicial inquiry into the deaths of children due to a substandard measles vaccine. Hearing the petition filed by Advocate Azhar Siddique, Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan remarked that the matter could not be ignored. The petitioner stated that the vaccine was not kept at the required temperature. “The staff responsible for administering the vaccine to children was not fully trained. Because of these reasons, dozens of children died in the country in 2013,” he said. The petitioner stated that the measles vaccine was stolen from government hospitals and sold to private hospitals. “Several Health Department officials, including some EDOs, are involved in this scandal. However, no action has been taken against them,” he said. After the arguments, the court put off the hearing till July 10.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2015.
Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday summoned the attorney general of Pakistan and the advocate general of Punjab for assistance on a petition seeking a judicial inquiry into the deaths of children due to a substandard measles vaccine. Hearing the petition filed by Advocate Azhar Siddique, Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan remarked that the matter could not be ignored. The petitioner stated that the vaccine was not kept at the required temperature. “The staff responsible for administering the vaccine to children was not fully trained. Because of these reasons, dozens of children died in the country in 2013,” he said. The petitioner stated that the measles vaccine was stolen from government hospitals and sold to private hospitals. “Several Health Department officials, including some EDOs, are involved in this scandal. However, no action has been taken against them,” he said. After the arguments, the court put off the hearing till July 10.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2015.