Vaccine Counterfeits in India

The pandemic continues, and while India prepares to unlock it needs to do so very carefully, keeping in mind the second wave and the variant, Delta+ which the citizens will be experiencing soon. In these dreadful times, the different types of vaccines have been a ray of hope. However, while the vaccines are advantageous, one needs to understand that everything has a good side and a bad one to it, and so do the vaccines.

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Sadly, there have been fake vaccine drives that are taking place in India. At first, it felt awful and impossible to believe that in such times people could be so inhumane. But, it's the reality. The question is, why are these ‘fake’ vaccine drives taking place? The answer is simple, it is because of the reduced supply of vaccines. Some of them don’t want to stop taking in people for the vaccination due to the unavailability of vaccines as there is a fear of losing revenue. There could be several reasons, but this is something that stood out to us.

Solutions to the same are being discussed, but out of all those that have been put out on the table, we want to emphasize tracing the vaccine from when it gets dispatched from the producer to when the people get the jab. This can be referred to as vaccine traceability and it also keeps in check the temperature that the vaccine will be stored at. Practicing this method would enable healthcare professionals to be able to understand the status of the vaccines before vaccinating the individuals.

When the data about the vaccines will be available at various stages, the analysis and predictions of the allocation, planning, and production of the vaccines can be done more efficiently. The information about the batches of these vaccines can be stored in a standardized manner such as by bar codes, making it easier to access by the concerned authorities. Moreover, since each batch is being tracked, any adverse effects on the individuals after administration of the vaccine can be traced back to the batch that the vaccine was taken from. Going about the vaccination drives in this manner helps in the process of being more organized and ensuring transparency in the supply chain.

However, these solutions will take a while to get completely executed and therefore it is important and we, at our level, do all that we can to safely procure the vaccine. We at SHARP want to contribute to society by spreading awareness holistically, especially in these unprecedented times. At our level, we can follow some simple steps to stay out of these fake vaccine drives which are:

1. To stay updated and fully aware of the situation and obtain the news from trusted sources

2. Get the jab from trusted hospitals/vaccination centers

3. Talk to family doctors in case of any doubts and do not panic

Stay safe, and please feel free to share your views with us!

-Bhuvee Jivangikar

Head of Blog Design at SHARP

References:

Bhardwaj, Tarun. “Traceability Enables Validation of Vaccines to Prevent Counterfeits: S. Swaminathan, CEO, GS1.” Financial Express, 1 June 2021, 5:18 pm , www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/health/covid-19-vaccination-circumstances-in-india-ideal-for-counterfeiting-s-swaminathan-ceo-gs1/2262901/. Accessed 27 June 2021