QCOSTARICA – The Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) detained the health worker suspected of carrying out an anomalous vaccination against the new coronavirus to an elderly adult in La Unión.
The arrest occurred around 5:00 pm on public roads in Sabanilla de Montes de Oca, specified the OIJ press office.
The man, identified only by the last name Arrieta, is suspected of breach of duties and faces a criminal investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of La Unión as well as a disciplinary-administrative by the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) after a video of him in which he jabs a patient without pressing the plunger went viral on social networks.
The OIJ is investigating the case after Elías Rodríguez, 82 years of age, filed a formal complaint.
On Friday, Don Elias got his vaccine applied at the Ebáis de Tres Ríos, in La Unión de Cartago.
The crime under investigation in the case refers to “a public servant who illegally omits, refuses to perform or delays any act of his function. The same penalty will be imposed on the public official who does not unlawfully abstain, inhibit or excuse himself from carrying out a procedure, matter or procedure, how much is obliged,” and is punished with between one and four years of disqualification, in accordance with article 339 of the Penal Code.
The OIJ said the investigation was classified as “criminally relevant”.
The National Union of Employees of the Caja and Social Security (Undeca) claimed that it has perceived a smear campaign against health personnel after this fact.
“We must recognize that all human activity is linked to error, from which the practical exercise of health is not exempt, which cannot be considered, a priori, as a product of human perversity.
“If in what happened there was fraud or it was a human error, it is up to the judicial and administrative instances to determine what is pertinent,” said Undeca in a press release issued on Friday.
The OIJ clarified that the detained worker is a Primary Care Technical Assistant (ATAP), not a nurse.
The College of Nurses of Costa Rica reported that the detained worker is not a member and that it monitors and oversees the technical and professional competence of its members.
“The College of Nurses of Costa Rica recognizes the right of Costa Ricans to receive timely and safe care, for this reason, we call on the competent authorities to strengthen the presence of nursing professionals at the three levels of care,” says a statement posted on its Facebook page.
