An FIR will be filed against suspended ANM (auxiliary nurse midwife) Niha Khan, who was deputed at Jamalpur urban primary health centre and is accused of throwing 29 vaccine-loaded syringes in the dustbin. A probe committee on Friday indicted Niha Khan, following which Agra District Magistrate of Aligarh Chandra Bhushan Singh sent a show-cause notice to Khan.
The matter came to light on Monday when 29 syringes loaded with Covaxin were found in the dustbin at Jamalpur urban primary health centre in Aligarh. The ANM on duty Neha Khan was suspected of purportedly throwing away the syringes. As per reports, Khan used to insert injections inside the body of the vaccine recipients but took them out without releasing the vaccine.
The in-charge of the Centre, Dr Afreen, was also aware of this, but still, she did not bother to inform her superiors about Niha’s act. She could be transferred from the Jamalpur Urban health centre to her original posting in Harduaganj.
After 29 injections with vaccine doses inside them were found in the dustbin on Monday, the chief medical officer (CMO), Aligarh, Dr Bhanu Pratap Kalyani ordered a probe by a committee of additional CMO Dr MK Mathur and deputy CMO Durgesh Kumar. The probe team reached the urban primary health centre on Tuesday and interrogated the staff, including ANM Niha Khan. The committee submitted its report on Wednesday, after which a show-cause notice was issued to the ANM and a recommendation made for termination of her services.
“No such incident would be tolerated and whosoever is found guilty would face the action,” said DM Chandra Bhushan Singh.
All the beneficiaries of the vaccine that the ANM cheated were in the age group of 18-44 years. Their details were updated on COWIN portal saying that they have received the doses.
It is pertinent to note that the incident of binning loaded Covid-19 vaccine injections in the trash took place at a time when there is a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines across the country, and emphasis is placed on the judicious use of vaccines and minimizing their wastage.