The small bottles labeled with “Vaccine” stickers stand next to a medical syringe in front of the words “Coronavirus COVID-19” displayed in this illustration from April 10, 2020.
Dat Ruvic | Reuters
The World Health Organization has warned against counterfeit Covid-19 vaccines sold on the dark web during a news conference on Friday.
“We urge all people not to buy vaccines outside of government vaccination programs. Any vaccine outside these programs may be below standard or counterfeit, with the potential to cause serious harm,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The senior WHO official said the group is also aware of reports of “criminal groups” reusing empty vaccine bottles and changing the supply chain for Covid vaccines.
“We demand the safe disposal or destruction of used and empty vaccine ampoules to prevent their reuse by criminal groups,” Tedros said. He urged countries and individuals to monitor suspicious vaccine sales and report them to national authorities. “The flow of information is essential to mark, map global threats and protect trust in vaccines,” he said.
WHO stressed that any harm caused by counterfeit vaccines does not reflect the safety of genuine vaccines.
Law enforcement in the UK has listed more than 6,000 cases of Covid-related fraud worth £ 34.5m (US $ 48m) in the past year, the BBC reported.
The Americans lost $ 382 million due to coronavirus pandemic fraud, according to the Federal Trade Commission. More than 217,000 people have filed a Covid fraud report with the agency since January 2020.