Health ministry scraps ‘flawed’ vaccine tender

• Border Health Services vaccination setup abolished; new ministry tender due in a month • Officials arrested for bypassing ministry via parallel procurement committees • Pilgrims asked to arrange jabs thru travel agents ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Health Services has decided to issue a new procurement tender for meningococcal meningitis and influenza vaccines for overseas travellers within a month, following its decision to abolish the existing vaccination setup through Border Health Services (BHS). The decision follows a high-level inquiry ordered by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif into the BHS. The probe exposed severe flaws and financial irregularities in a previously awarded public-private partnership contract. Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal confirmed that authorities have halted the current vaccination process for religious pilgrims and overseas job seekers.

Furthermore, all BHS officials involved in floating the unauthorised tender have been arrested for bypassing ministry oversight. “I can assure that they will be fixed for keeping the ministry in the dark,” Mr Kamal said. “I am carrying a good reputation and have remained clean throughout my career. So I will not tolerate any attempt to defame me. ” With the BHS system dismantled, the ministry has directed pilgrims to arrange their mandatory vaccinations directly through their travel agents until the ministry’s central procurement committee floats a replacement tender. The inquiry by the prime minister was triggered by allegations that the new contract inflated vaccination costs to approximately Rs4,500 per pilgrim, up sharply from around Rs1,250 per dose under the previous arrangement. Meanwhile, seven companies petitioned the Islamabad High Court challenging alleged irregularities in the bidding…