WHO issues fresh warning over fake COVID vaccines

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified counterfeit versions of the Covishield vaccine in India and Uganda.

Covishield is the Indian-made version of the vaccine developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca, and is manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

Fake vaccines such as the one identified by Indian and Uganda in July and August “pose a serious risk to global public health,” the WHO warned.

Covishield is the most widely used vaccine in India, with 486 million doses administered there so far.

“WHO requests increased vigilance within the supply chains of countries and regions likely to be affected by these falsified products,” a statement from the global health body said. “Increased vigilance should include hospitals, clinics, health centers, wholesalers, distributors, pharmacies, and any other suppliers of medical products,” it added.

Europol warned in May last year that once an effective COVID-19 vaccine was developed, fraudsters were likely to invest heavily in producing counterfeits.

The warning has since rang true with counterfeit versions of multiple vaccines, including Pfizer’s, having been discovered over the past year.

Speaking in March, WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged authorities to purchase vaccines only from approved suppliers.

“We urge all people not to buy vaccines outside government-run vaccination programs. Any vaccine outside these programmes may be substandard or falsified, with the potential to cause serious harm,” Tedros said.

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