PFIZER FINDS COUNTERFEIT COVID-19 VACCINE DOSES IN MEXICO AND POLAND

Thu 22 April 2021:

The US pharmaceutical company of Pfizer has identified fake doses of its vaccine against COVID-19 in Mexico and Poland, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In Mexico, some 80 people got fraudulent vaccines at a clinic for about $1,000 per dose. The doses also had fake labels.

“We are cognizant that in this type of environment — fueled by the ease and convenience of e-commerce and anonymity afforded by the Internet — there will be an increase in the prevalence of fraud, counterfeit and other illicit activity as it relates to vaccines and treatments for COVID-19,” the spokesperson told ABC News.

This latest volley of fraud was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, however, it’s not the first time this issue has been raised on the international stage.

In February, the health secretary for the Mexican state of Nuevo León warned about the “clandestine” sale of “alleged Covid vaccine.” An investigation found at least 80 people paid the equivalent of hundreds of U.S. dollars per dose for a coronavirus vaccine — though the substance was unknown, and may have been water, or something even more harmful. Secretary of Health Manuel de la O Cavazos urged citizens not to buy these unknown substances posing as real shots.

In Poland, the fake doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are likely to have been an anti-wrinkle medicine. The Polish authorities said that no people had received the fake vaccines.

In March, the World Health Organization issued an alert for “falsified” Pfizer vaccines detected in Mexico, which was given to patients outside authorized programs, and that WHO warned at the time “may still be in circulation in the region and may continue to be offered.”

On Wednesday, Pfizer warned the public not to trust online vendors selling the vaccine.

The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020. To date, more than 143.48 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 3.05 million fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.