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Published March 08, 2021 / Public health

Counterfeit COVID-2019 Vaccines Used by an International Criminal Network

20210408-Vaccins-COVID

The link between medical products and organised crime is well established. Falsified medicines, introduced on the market in the same way as drugs, weapons and trafficking human beings, contribute to the financing of terrorism.

Interpol, the international criminal policeorganisation , made public this Thursday, March 4, 2021, the dismantling of an international criminal network counterfeiting COVID-19 vaccines. Thousands of vials of counterfeit vaccines and surgical masks have been confiscated from smugglers from South Africa and China.

 

As stated by the head of Interpol, this seizure represents only "the tip of the iceberg in terms of COVID-19 vaccine-related crime. It was added that the agency was also looking into fake vaccine scams targeting nursing homes and other care facilities.

 

The African continent, due to its low pharmaceutical production, underdeveloped or permeable distribution channels and multiple stakeholders, is the first victim of trafficking counterfeit medicines and vaccines.

 

Brazzaville Foundation"Falsified chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are enriching the crime organised that thrives in Africa, even though they have fallen into the public domain and are produced at a low manufacturing cost," shared Jean-Yves Ollivier, Founding Chairman , and Jean-Louis Bruguière, Advisory Board Member, on the Journal de l'Afrique.

 

Since July 2020, the Brazzaville Foundation has been working on defining the falsified drug supply chain to understand the causes of its vulnerability and to combat this scourge systemically. Look for an infographic soon to visualize its supply chain steps in the Foundation's five-year report.

 

Read the article published by Interpol right here.