Counterfeiting Vaccines- A Social Menace

Need for COVID-19 Vaccine

The spreading of the COVID-19 increases due to the sudden attack of phase II resulting in the need for vaccines. Pfizer Inc. in collaboration with BioNTech manufactured the Covid-19 vaccine called Tozinameran to increase the scale production of vaccine.

It is disappointing to note that while the world is facing a pandemic, some people are taking advantage of the global health crisis and counterfeiting Pfizer vaccines.

Cases on Counterfeited Vaccines

The first cases of counterfeited Pfizer vaccine arose in Mexico and Poland. In Mexico, there was a fake labels in the packages. In Poland, a fake anti-wrinkle substance was found in the vials of the said vaccine. People would use these test times as a means for their personal benefit eventhough it did not cause physical harm.

Tracking the Criminal Activities

The collaboration of Moderna Inc., Pfizer, and Johnson and Johnson track criminal activities during the global rollout of the vaccines. Criminals exploit the situation by producing counterfeit products due to the high demand and short supply of vaccines. The National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center of the USA closely examined fraud i for month. In the process, they recovered various personal protective equipment, fake masks, and many counterfeited products. Over the past fall, investigators continued their search for counterfeit products and took down 30 websites, and seized 74 web domains.

Role of IPR to Secure the Vaccine

Recently, Pfizer helped the government agencies to arrest companies manufacturing fake dozes of Viagra treatment and the antianxiety drug Xanax. IPR centers also play a major role in attracting these people by searching the keywords used in these so-called vaccines on the dark web. The police working with Pfizer has arrested an individual for fraud for counterfeiting Pfier’s vaccine. The authorities examined the bottles’ packaging for fakes as they were classified as a wrinkle treatment by some other companies.

Conclusion

The imitation of these vaccines not only causes global health concerns but is also a flagrant violation of the patent rights. Hence, at this point, it is extremely important to prevent the production of these fake vaccines globally by conducting various investigations through collaborative efforts of pharmaceutical companies and law enforcement authorities at the grass-root level especially so they continue to be rolled out during these times.