B.C. pharmacist suspended for faked vaccine

VANCOUVER - A British Columbia pharmacist has been disciplined for claiming to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and falsifying provincial health records to hide his unvaccinated status.

The College of Pharmacists of BC says on a post on its website that its inquiry committee has suspended Aftabahmed Shaikh for 30 days and placed a permanent letter of reprimand on his file.

In the post dated March 10, the college says Shaikh was practising in "various locations" in B.C. and admits to twice entering COVID-19 vaccinations into his PharmaNet record without receiving the shots.

The college says its inquiry also found that Shaikh altered the pharmacy's software to make his records more difficult to find.

The college says Shaikh's actions were "highly unethical and amounted to professional misconduct."

It says the suspension and other penalties, including a two-year ban on tutoring pharmacy students, are "necessary to protect the public, (and) send a clear message of deterrence to the profession."

The inquiry found Shaikh's creation of faked PharmaNet records helped him obtain a COVID-19 vaccine passport that could have been used to evade domestic and international vaccine mandates during the pandemic.

"The false vaccine passport could have put the public at increased risk of harm," writes the college, adding it considers Shaikh's conduct a "serious matter."

Shaikh's suspension began on March 13 and the college statement shows he will be eligible to resume working as a pharmacist on April 11.