Probe claims on blank shots, Rafidah tells committee

 

Rafidah Aziz said very few people looked at needles “being pushed into their flesh” so there was no telling how many such cases have happened in the country.

PETALING JAYA: The vaccine supply access guarantee special committee (JKJAV) must investigate claims of people being given blank shots at vaccination centres, a former federal minister said.

Rafidah Aziz said that following such reports, many were questioning if they had been actually vaccinated and whether they were safe from contracting a severe case of Covid-19.

She also said those who had not been properly vaccinated were in a “perilous situation” as they were now going about their lives thinking they had been inoculated.

“The vaccination committee must address this violation of ethics and public trust. Families stand to be unknowingly exposed to Covid-19 infection,” she said in a Facebook post.

The former international trade and industry minister also wondered how many similar cases had yet to be discovered, noting that very few people looked at needles “being pushed into their flesh”

Asking if this could be a scam, Rafidah called on the committee to take serious action to prevent such incidents. They should also probe the extent of such abuses if any.

“We are dealing with millions of vaccinations,” she noted.

Former MIC secretary-general S Murugesan expressed a similar sentiment, saying the controversy was “unpardonable” as those involved had put the individual’s life and that of their family members at risk.

He added that in view of the failed movement restrictions, vaccination was seen as the only viable path towards safety and recovery. “Therefore, even one such case is one too many.”

Murugesan said such incidents would also undo the hard work of thousands of dedicated health workers, not to mention billions of ringgit spent.

“It goes deeper than just allowing ‘the victim’ to receive another jab,” he said, referring to health minister Dr Adham Baba’s statement that those who could prove they were “vaccinated” with an empty syringe would receive a new injection.

Murugesan also said taking disciplinary action against a healthcare worker for not injecting the vaccine dose into a recipient’s arm at a drive-through vaccination centre in Kedah was not enough.

“Initiate a criminal investigation and if there are grounds to prosecute, charge them under the severest law possible.”

Earlier today, deputy health minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali said it was possible that fatigue among vaccination staff could have led to cases of jabs with “empty syringes”. - FMT