Three days after Nigeria began vaccination for coronavirus, there are concerns that fake and illegal COVID-19 vaccines may soon flood the Nigerian market if the Federal Government did not tackle the situation urgently.The anxiety was heightened, last week, when the global police organization, Interpol Police, in China and South Africa reportedly seized thousands of fake doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, warning this represented only the “tip of the iceberg” in vaccine-related crime.
The Lyon-based agency Interpol said 400 vials – equivalent to around 2,400 doses – containing the fake vaccine were found at a warehouse in Germiston outside Johannesburg in South Africa, where officers also recovered fake masks and arrested three Chinese and a Zambian national.
The situation has raised questions about readiness of Nigeria to prevent fake vaccines from getting into the country, a situation that could increase concerns about efficacy and apathy.
The Guardian investigation revealed that real the challenge for government is that there are no enough vaccines. Some travellers may become so desperate to be tempted to take from the black market, which might encourage its smuggling.
While relying on the fact that the only remedy, perhaps is the vaccine certificate, which only government issues, some fear COVID-19 vaccine certificates could be faked too, just as COVID-19 test results are faked for travelling.
Health Minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, told The Guardian yesterday: “Nigerian government issues vaccination certificates with QR code you can scan for authenticity. The President and Vice President were issued QR coded certificates, valid after they get the second dose.”
Ehanire had told journalists on Tuesday: “All questions can be directed to the Ministry of Health and NPHCDA, but this is not a time to work at cross purposes; it is not a time to be making private arrangements for vaccine procurement and administration. Vaccines that are not approved by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) will be determined as dangerous, and will be seized by Customs Services and NAFDAC, who are on high alert for illegal vaccine importation.”
Ehanire said that manufacturers of vaccines require an official indemnification to be able to use their product, which Nigeria has provided for the COVAX facility, adding that vaccines from other sources must first have NAFDAC’s Emergency Use Authorisation, and are not covered under the indemnification arrangement warning that such vaccines will be illegal and therefore subject to be impounded by NAFDAC and Customs.
The Guardian reliably gathered that NAFDAC, the regulatory agency that gave the Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for the vaccine, has also put in place track and trace mechanisms, including code bars etc. to prevent infiltration of fake vaccines.
Director General, Nigerian Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) Yaba, Lagos, Prof. Babatunde Salako, said: “Government has warned that there are already fake vaccine around and that people should take vaccine only from government facilities. People should also be patient, as more vaccines will come into the country, just as government is still negotiating with other vaccine manufacturers to provide adequate vaccine for at least 70-80 percent of Nigerians.”