Patna: A youth was ‘administered a COVID-19 vaccine shot’ with an empty syringe during the ongoing vaccination drive in Bihar, highlighting further negligence in the massive exercise aimed at pushing the nation towards herd immunity.
Azhar Hussain, a resident of Chapra town in Bihar’s Saran district, had been to a vaccination centre at a local Urdu middle school earlier this week. He got the rude shock when he was given the injection with an empty syringe by a nurse on duty. The youth came to know of the goof up after his friend showed the video to him soon after he got the “vaccine”.
He got the rude shock when he was given the injection with an empty syringe by a nurse on duty. The youth came to know of the goof up after his friend showed the video to him soon after he got the “vaccine”.
In a video which has now gone viral on social media, the middle-aged nurse identified as Chanda Devi is seen engrossed in conversation with someone. In between, she strips off the package of a disposable syringe placed on the table and straightway pokes the youth without filling it with the vaccine.
“Initially, I thought I had got the vaccine but came to know about the vaccination with an empty syringe when my friend showed the video,” Azhar told the media. According to him, his friend had accompanied him to the vaccination centre and made a video of ‘my vaccination’ which brought the whole truth.
The state government has taken a serious note of this incident and removed the nurse from vaccination duty. At the same time, a show-cause notice has been served on the nurse who already has been placed under suspension for her mistake.
“It is a serious issue and we will come to a logical conclusion. The message should go loud and clear,” Bihar’s health secretary Pratyay Amrit told the media on Friday. The local district magistrate Nilesh Ramchandra Deore said the nurse had been removed from duty and further investigation was on.
More incidents of negligence
Last week, Sunita Devi, a resident of Punpun block in Patna district, was given both the doses of two different vaccines at an interval of just five minutes at another vaccination centre. The woman was first given the Covishield vaccine at the centre and was under the mandatory 30-minute observation period when another nurse approached her and gave her a Covaxin shot. Here too, the health department has sought explanations from both nurses.
Another such incident was reported from Godda district in neighbouring Jharkhand state where a woman named Bulbul Dutt was given double doses of the vaccine at the same time on June 21. According to the woman, she kept on saying repeatedly that she had got the vaccine but the nurse didn’t pay heed to her and gave her the second dose. The local authorities, however, have rejected the claim of the woman.
Bihar moved to fifth position with more than 15.26 million of the population getting vaccinated so far. Now, only four states are ahead of Bihar. They are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. Jharkhand remains in 16th position in matters of vaccination coverage.
