A B.C. pharmacist is serving a 30 day suspension for faking his own COVID vaccination records and attempting to cover it up.
The College of Pharmacists of B.C. said Aftabahmed Abdullatif Shaikh admitted to inputting the false records into their database twice, on Aug. 8 and 30, 2021. Both times, he claimed a fellow pharmacist gave him the vaccinations and signed off on the records.
Shaikh was able to obtain a vaccine passport as a result.
He then attempted to bury his personal records from possible future scrutiny by altering the spelling of his name and date of birth, removing his personal health number and making his profile inactive.
His actions came just two months before the College of Pharmacists of B.C. made COVID vaccination a requirement for all licensed pharmacists.
Since being found out, Shaikh entered into a consent agreement with the college. He is serving a 30-day suspension until April 11, is not allowed to supervise students for two years and must personally notify the Ministry of Health about his false records. Shaikh is also required to review the college’s ethics tutorial and write an apology to the pharmacist whose name he used to falsify records.
Shaikh will have a permanent letter of reprimand on his file.
In its decision, the college said Shaikh’s actions allowed him to circumvent vaccination requirements domestically and internationally and could have put people at an increased risk of getting COVID. The college said its chosen reprimands were necessary to protect the public and send a clear message of deterrence to other pharmacists.
Shaikh has practised at various locations in B.C. The college did not identify where he was working at the time of the misconduct.
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