Florida Pediatrician Arrested for Allegedly Giving Partial Vaccine Doses to Hundreds of Children

Alexia Fernandez
Updated
Florida Pediatrician Arrested for Using Partial Vaccine Doses

A Florida pediatrician was arrested on Friday after she allegedly inoculated hundreds of children with less than the required dose of vaccine.

Dr. Ishrat Sohail has been charged with Medicaid fraud for allegedly giving patients with private insurance vaccines intended for Medicaid and uninsured children. Sohail has yet to enter a plea.

And those who were vaccinated were allegedly given partial doses of vaccines but their insurance companies were being billed for a full dose, according to a statement by the Florida Health Department.

The department said about 500 children have been affected and say they may need to be revaccinated since the partial doses does not protect them from potentially dangerous diseases.

When asked by local station Wesh 2 about the allegations, the doctor remained silent.

• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

Sohail was taken to Seminole County Jail on Friday and posted bail the same day, according to WFLA. Her license to practice medicine in the state has been suspended.

This is not the first time Sohail has been accused of mishandling vaccines. In 2016, she was found to have administered two vials of vaccines meant for Medicaid or uninsured patients to those with private insurance, according to the department.

She was suspended from administering vaccines for two months but was then allowed to continue her practice with a limited number of vaccines.

• For more compelling true crime coverage, follow our Crime magazine on Flipboard.

In January, the Florida Department of Health found used single-dose vaccine files in the refrigerator of the office where she worked, according to the department.

Officials say Sohail may not have followed best practices in keeping the vaccines sterile, which might cause severe adverse reactions or infections at the injection site.

They ask those that were treated by Sohail and her staff to contact the Department of Health-Orange epidemiology at 407-858-1485.