‘Pfizer confirms fake vaccine shots on sale in Mexico, Poland’
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US drugmaker Pfizer on Wednesday confirmed that suspect doses of its coronavirus vaccine that were seized in Mexico and Poland were indeed fake, with doses going for as much as $1,000 a shot, according to US media.
At a clinic in Mexico, some 80 people received bogus doses of the drug, which appeared to have been physically harmless, though offering no protection against the potentially deadly disease ravaging the country, a report in the Wall Street Journal said.
The vials were found in beer coolers and were initially identified by fabricated lot numbers and expiration dates, Mexican officials said.
The liquid in the confiscated vials in Poland was a cosmetic substance, thought to be anti-wrinkle cream, the company said.
”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,” a Pfizer spokesperson told ABC News.
In February, health authorities in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon warned about “clandestine” sales of “alleged COVID vaccines” and urged people not to take them.
In March, the World Health Organization also warned of “falsified” Pfizer vaccines found in Mexico and warned that the shots “may still be in circulation in the region.”
Pfizer tested the bogus vials and found they did not contain the two-shot vaccine it developed with BioNTech.
Lev Kubiak, Pfizer’s head of global security, said the desperate need and the shortfall in vaccines had led to the scams.
”We have a very limited supply, a supply that will increase as we ramp up and other companies enter the vaccine space. In the interim, there is a perfect opportunity for criminals,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
Mexico is also examining a shipment of 6,000 doses of what is claimed to be the Russian vaccine Sputnik that were seized on a private plane headed for Honduras last month, the newspaper said.
Meanwhile, Europe’s medicines regulator said Tuesday that blood clots should be listed as a “very rare” side effect of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine, but that the benefits of the shot still outweighed the risks.
The US is expected to announce its decision on the single-shot J&J vaccine by Saturday, as nations around the world urgently try to accelerate inoculation campaigns and revive their pandemic-ravaged economies.
The European Medicines Agency assessment came as an EU official promised to have enough doses available to vaccinate 70 percent of European adults by the summer – a boon for the continent’s sluggish rollout.
Europe’s Johnson & Johnson campaign was delayed after US health regulators said the shot should be paused over blood clot fears.
After reviewing isolated cases of clotting among people who received the vaccine, EMA’s safety committee said it found a “possible link” to the jab.
The regulator said its safety committee “concluded that a warning about unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be added to the product information” for the J&J shot.
”This is a very rare effect,” EMA chief Emer Cooke told reporters. “But it also makes it very important for doctors and patients to be aware of the signs so that they can spot any concerns.”
Italy’s health authorities said that in light of the EMA ruling, the vaccine should be considered “definitively safe” but the country would prioritize its use for people aged over 60.
Only two countries had started administering the J&J shot before it was paused – the US and South Africa – with more than seven million doses given out so far, according to an AFP tally.
The vaccine was praised as easier to administer and transport than some of its rivals, because it requires just one dose and can be stored at warmer temperatures.
The EU approved the J&J shot on March 3 and started taking deliveries on April 19, but has not yet started administering it to people.
A top Johnson & Johnson executive said Tuesday he hoped for a speedy resolution to the current pause.
“We remain very confident and very hopeful that the benefit-risk profile will play out,” Chief Financial Officer Joseph Wolk told CNBC.
The J&J concerns follow similar reports of blood clots in a very small number of people who received the AstraZeneca shot.
The EMA also described those clots as a “very rare” side effect, stressing that the AstraZeneca jab’s benefits outweigh the risks.