Minister’s jab at home: Health officer suspended
Karnataka Agri Minister BC Patil had pooh-poohed criticism, saying home vaccination was ‘not wrong’
HAVERI/BENGALURU:
The Karnataka Health Department has suspended Hirekerur Taluk Health Officer Dr Z R Makandar, who had visited Agriculture Minister B C Patil’s house to give him a Covid-19 vaccine jab.
Dr KV Trilok Chandra, Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare, suspended Dr Makandar after a thorough inquiry into the case, citing dereliction of duty and a violation of the guidelines issued by the Central government.
Taking exception to a Karnataka Minister’s act of getting vaccinated at his residence, the Union Health Ministry had called it a violation of protocol and had sought a report in the matter. However, Minister BC Patil brazened it out, saying that his decision to take the vaccine at home could not be considered ‘wrong’.
Viral video
The video and pictures of health officials administering the vaccine at Patil’s home were widely shared on social media, and netizens had pointed to the misuse of the process by the Minister at a time when even Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, among other Cabinet Ministers, had gone to the hospital to receive the shot.
Read here: Centre seeks report on vaccination protocol violation after Karnataka Minister gets vaccinated at home https://thebengalurulive.com/centre-seeks-report-on-vaccination-protocol-violation-after-karnataka-minister-gets-vaccinated-at-home/
Haveri District Health Officer Dr Rajendra Doddamani had issued a notice to Taluk Health Officer ZR Makandar on March 3 after the incident.
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