According to the BBC, the amounts of fake vaccines were seized by authorities in India and Africa during the months of July and August.
NEW DELHI — The administration or availability of fake COVID-19 vaccines in India has been a big concern surrounding the Indian immunization effort for countering the pandemic of novel Coronavirus.
Covishield counterfeits have been detected in India and Africa, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The quantities were confiscated by police in India and Africa between July and August, according to the BBC.
Fake Covishield vaccine in circulation in India
Even the vaccine’s manufacturer, Serum Institute of India, admitted to the WHO that the vaccine was fake.
In recent months, many media investigations have revealed the existence of a vaccination fraud in India, in which victims were given saline water instead of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Rajesh Tope, Maharashtra‘s health minister, confirmed the fraud and promised that the victims will be tested for antibodies and given two doses of the Covishield vaccination.
Covishield is India’s major vaccine against COVID-19
According to official data, Covishield is the local name for Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which has been administered to more than 48.6 crore Indians as of August 17, 2021.
Serum Institute of India (SII) manufactures Covishield, India’s major COVID-19 vaccine.
SII chairman recommends ‘booster dose’ of Covishield
On the other hand, the chairperson of the SII, Cyrus Poonawalla, has stated that six months after receiving the second dosage of COVID-19 vaccine, a third injection or a “booster dose” is recommended.
According to the news agency PTI, this is essential for individuals with weakened immune systems.
Poonawalla further stated that he, along with 7,000 other SII personnel, had already received their third dosage of the COVID-19 vaccination as a precaution.
Antibodies decrease after six months, as per Poonawalla, which is why he took the third dose.
The SII has delivered the third dose to its employees, who number in the thousands. It also recommends that those who have completed the second dosage take a booster dose (third dose) after six months.
This news comes just a week after the US authorities authorized the third/booster injection of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for patients with compromised immune systems.