Beware of fake Covid-19 vaccines, Centre issues guidelines to states

New Delhi: Amid reports of counterfeit versions of Covishield vaccines in the international market, the Centre on Saturday shared a list of parameters to the states to identify the authenticity of the Covid vaccines being used in the country.

Health minister's guidelines come days after the World Health Organization (WHO) flagged concern regarding the availability of counterfeit versions of Covishield in South-East Asia and Africa.

The parameters are prepared with the help of the information from the companies producing vaccines currently used in the Indian market such as Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V . This will help to find whether the vaccine is fake or genuine, says the Ministry of Health in the letter written to the States.

The note sent to the states also records the label, colour, and other details used by the vaccine manufacturers.

After the warning of WHO against counterfeit versions of the coronavirus vaccine, the central government has launched an investigation based on these reports.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the Indian government is probing claims of duplicate versions of the Covishield vaccine sold in the country.

"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 found any substance to the allegations," said Mansukh Mandaviya.

Apart from the three vaccines available in India - Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik Cadila, three more vaccines including one from Zydus Cadila would soon be available for adults in India. The other two will be from Genova and Biological Evans, he added.

From the beginning of the vaccination drive in January, the government has provided vaccine doses to 68 crore beneficiaries. More than 62.25 lakh vaccine doses were given on Saturday.