Centre issues guidelines to identify fake Covid vaccine

The union health ministry has issued guidelines to identify fake Covid-19 vaccines and ensure that they are not administered in India. The country is administering the Serum Institute of India's (SII) Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and the Russian vaccine Sputnik V to those eligible during the ongoing vaccination drive. The Centre has issued guidelines on Sunday after reports of counterfeit versions of Covishield vaccines circulating in the international market, a concern flagged by even the World Health Organization.

Various reports have emerged recently claiming that counterfeit versions of Covishield, India's primary anti-COVID-19 vaccine, had been seized in Southeast Asia and Africa. Some of the counterfeit versions are also being sold across the country, media reports have claimed. The World Health Organisation has issued an alert over the counterfeit versions of coronavirus vaccines. The government has also launched an inquiry based on these reports.

The government shared a list of parameters to identify the authenticity of the Covid vaccines being used in the country. The parameters will help identify whether the vaccine is fake or genuine, the Health Ministry said in a letter written to the states. The note sent to the states has details on the label, colour and other details used by the vaccine manufacturer.