European Union police agency Europol warns against 'counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines', fraud

In an ‘early warning notification’, European Union police agency Europol said that the member states and third-party countries must stay vigilant against the organized crime scams linked to COVID-19 vaccines. The warning was issued after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that it was set to conclude the evaluation of the first conditional marketing authorization application for the vaccines. “Increased vigilance for criminal fraudulent activity is advised to all Member States,” Europol said in a statement, stressing that criminals replacing genuine shots shipments with counterfeit vaccines. 

In an official report published in late November, Europol said, "It was identified that the distribution of substandard and counterfeit pharmaceutical products, including preventative COVID-19 vaccines had remained a consistent pandemic-related criminal activity.” It further warned, that there was potential harm of offline and online scams that might offer fake versions of vaccines in order to dupe the administrations. While there’s a risk of shortages due to the high demand for the COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate the majority population, Europol warned that the counterfeit vaccine brands are expected to circulate rapidly. "Similar to the fake influenza vaccine encountered in Mexico, counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines may represent a significant public health threat," Europol said.

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“Expected arrival of a genuine COVID-19 vaccine has already inspired criminal activities and will likely be exacerbated once vaccines become available”—Europol said in a statement.

'Severe risk' to human health

“Criminals will share disinformation to defraud individuals and companies, as there have been cases of advertisements on dark web marketplaces using the brands of genuine pharmaceutical companies that are already in the final stages of testing,” the police organization warned. Further, it alleged that the fake product might be ineffective or toxic, given its production in labs without the required hygiene standards it could pose severe risk to human health. “Europol actively encourages Member States to share any relevant information on criminal activities related to COVID-19 or flu vaccines,” the police body appealed. the warning was escalated for EU’s 27 member nations and the partner countries involved in the purchase and distribution of the pharmaceutical product.

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(Image Credit: Twitter/Europol)