Vaccinators booked for taking bribe to administer AstraZeneca vaccine

LAHORE: A case has been filed against three staffers of Lahore’s Expo Centre vaccination facility for charging people for administering AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, ARY News reported on Friday.

A case was registered against three vaccinators of the mass vaccination centre at Lahore’s Expo Centre for taking bribes to administer the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The case was lodged at the Nawab Town police station over the complaint of a shift in-charge of the vaccination centre.

The First Information Report (FIR) stated that the vaccinators received Rs4,000 each from five citizens who wanted to travel abroad. It added that the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was unavailable at Lahore’s Expo Centre vaccination facility.

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Earlier on June 19, enraged citizens had forcibly entered the Lahore Expo Centre amid a COVID-19 vaccine shortage being reported at vaccination centres across the country.

Chaos had been witnessed at the Lahore Expo vaccination centre when people who gathered there to get inoculated against the virus got angry over being kept waiting for long and broke inside, smashing its glass doors.

The administration had said the citizens were not ready to leave despite being told that the inoculation centre was out of stocks.

A similar situation had been faced by vaccination centres in Karachi, Islamabad and other parts of the country.