Amid reports of counterfeit versions of Covishield vaccines circulating in the global market, the Centre on Saturday shared a list of parameters such as details on the label, colour and other information used by the vaccine manufacturer 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 Union Health Ministry said in a letter to the States, adding that it was prepared with information from the companies manufacturing Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V — the three vaccines currently being used in the Indian market.
Even the World Health Organization had warned recently of counterfeit versions of Covishield, India’s primary anti-COVID-19 vaccine, in Southeast Asia including India and Africa markets. The guidelines come nearly a month after Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the Government is probing the claims of duplicate Covishield vaccines being allegedly sold by criminal elements.
“It has been claimed that duplicate versions of the Covishield vaccine were sold in the country. The Indian government is probing this claim and will take action if it
finds any substance to the allegations,” Mandaviya had said.
In the meantime, India has administered more COVID-19 vaccine doses in August than all the G7 nations combined, the government said on Saturday. In a tweet, the
centre’s official handle MyGovIndia, said the country administered over 180 million vaccine doses in August - more than all the Group of 7 nations combined that
includes Canada, the UK, the US, Italy, Germany, France and Japan.