Fake Covishield doses in Southeast Asia, Africa: UP govt issues alert to all DMs, CMOs

A few weeks ago, the World Health Organisation (WHO) made an official statement on its website, announcing that fake doses of the COVID-19 vaccine Covishield were found in certain parts of Southeast Asia and Africa, which pose a serious threat to global public health.

In response to the circulation of fake vaccine jabs doing rounds on a global level, the government of Uttar Pradesh has launched an alert in this regard. Orders have also been issued to monitor the supply chain of the vaccine, which was being manufactured by Pune Serum Institute, developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca.

With regard to the case of the fake Covishield doses, the Director of the National Health Mission (NHM), Uttar Pradesh, has given instructions to monitor and keep a check on the quality of the supply chain of the vaccine.

The Uttar Pradesh Health Department has also issued an alert to all the District Magistrates (DMs) and Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) in the state regarding the circulation of the fake Covishield doses in Southeast Asia and Africa.

The official alert issued to DMs and CMOs states, “According to the letter of the Government of India, the World Health Organization has detected fake Covishield doses in Southeast Asia and Africa. After testing conducted by WHO and the manufacturing company, it was confirmed that the vaccine doses were fake.”

The health department in Uttar Pradesh has further said that the monitoring of the supply chain should be increased and the quality status of the vaccine should be verified before its use to prevent the circulation of fake Covidshield doses. This should be done especially for special sessions organized by private COVID vaccination centres (CVCs).

The information regarding any suspicious activity should be provided at the competent level for prompt action, the health department said. The official statement further states that in view of the above, wherever activities related to fake vaccines are found during the COVID vaccination sessions, immediate investigation and action should be ensured as per rules.