Growing Underground Vaccine Market

The paucity of vaccines, vaccine hesitancy, and the mutating variants of the COVID-19 virus have been in the spotlight for wreaking the healthcare infrastructure, human life, and economy. With the dangers of a third wave looming, the only hope for us all is large-scale vaccination drives. While India now has many vaccines approved for emergency use and the vaccination drive is picking speed, there is a threat to vaccines.

People are desperate to go to work, open the economy, and carry on. With the central government streamlining procuring and administering vaccines, many are keen to get the jabs. The authorities have permitted offices and housing societies to tie up with hospitals to inoculate employees and residents and boost the vaccination drive. India has been vaccinating daily in numbers equivalent to the entire population of Poland. So, relying only on hospitals for arranging vaccine camps is restrictive. So the government has laid out strict guidelines under which housing societies and organizations can tie up with hospitals in the vicinity to administer the jabs within society and office premises. 

But do SOPs and policies do enough to deter opportunists and counterfeiters?

‘2000 people were victims of a fake vaccination drive in Mumbai’

‘MP Mimi Chakraborty of the Trinamool Congress falls ill, days after falling prey to the fake vaccination drive at Kolkata’

‘Unauthorised vaccination drives were conducted at nine locations across Mumbai, which was brought to notice by Kandivli’s Hiranandani Heritage Society residents.'

While it is refreshing to see news headlines showing a gradual pick-up in the pace of vaccination, the parallel rise in the number of fake vaccine drives is concerning. In response to this alarming trend, the authorities have now come up with measures to verify the authenticity of the vaccine administrators. In many cities, the municipal corporation will now check the CoWIN registration of all private Covid 19 vaccine centres that arrange vaccination drives for housing societies and corporations. Civic bodies have appointed nodal officers to tackle the menace of fake COVID-19 vaccines. Vigilant citizens are now doing better background checks of distributors and arrangers of the COVID-19 vaccine. While there is a genuine intent and sincere effort to protect people from counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines, enforcing guidelines and protocols has limitations. Also, punitive actions do little to undo the damage spurious and fake COVID-19 vaccines can cause.

Why are Counterfeit Vaccines so Prevalent, and How Can They be Stopped?

As an expert in anti-counterfeit technology, the founder of ACVISS technology, Vikas Jain, opines, ‘When vaccination slots are closing in fast, people get desperate. In such a scenario, the counterfeit market is bound to raise its deathly head. Stringent guidelines and vigilance are useful to catch culprits in hindsight. Often, when we rely solely on law enforcement, the crime has already happened, with dangerous consequences. In COVID-19 vaccines, we need to understand the complex supply chain, storage, and vaccine wastage issues associated with it. The vaccines change many hands, and a single vaccination drive involves multiple stakeholders. 

As anti-counterfeit technology providers, what concerns us most is that it is difficult for authorities to verify the source of a single vial of COVID-19 vaccine. In the case of the fake vaccine racket at Kandivli’s Hiranandani Heritage Society in Mumbai, we can still not understand where the vaccines originated. The authorities are now requesting the manufacturers, i.e., SII, to authenticate the vials and provide data.’ Commenting on the complexity of vaccination drives, Vikas further says, ‘Right from hospitals, doctors to distributors, the scale of stakeholders makes it difficult to prevent unauthorized vaccination drives. Organizers can offer jabs that are past their expiry date.

Some may think of hoarding vaccines to sell them in the black market. Mixing the Covid 19 vaccine vials with substandard, substitute, and spurious products can also be a threat to the overall efficacy of the vaccination drive.” The CoWIN app maintains a registry of citizens who have been vaccinated and the details of vaccination centres. Still, it is not immune to threats of the dark web. One way to identify a fake jab post-administration is to check the certification on the CoWIN app. Victims have not received a COVID vaccination certificate through the app for most counterfeit and unauthorized vaccination drives. “Yet, it is not a sure-shot way to detect fake vaccines. The dark web is now filled with fake Covid vaccination certificates”, warns Vikas. Commenting on the solace anti-counterfeit technology can bring to the menace of fake vaccines, Vikas says, “tracking and tracing the journey of every vial of the vaccine. It is important to safeguard the supply chain. Also, user-friendly anti-counterfeit technology like 2D codes, 3D codes, non-human readable technology, serialization, and blockchain, ensures that the buyers and administrators can authenticate the vial before administering.”


Anti-Counterfeiting Solutions for the Pharmaceutical Industry

1. Technological Solutions for Pharmaceutical Authentication

​Counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry can have life-threatening consequences, making technological interventions critical. Key solutions include:

  • Blockchain Technology: Blockchain ensures end-to-end product traceability and allows manufacturers and consumers to verify the authenticity of pharmaceutical products in real-time. Each transaction or movement in the supply chain is immutable, reducing the risk of tampering.
  • Non-Cloneable Security Labels: These labels feature unique codes or patterns that cannot be duplicated, ensuring product authenticity at every point of interaction. Customers can scan these codes to verify products directly via mobile apps.
  • AI-Powered Monitoring: Artificial intelligence helps detect counterfeit products online by scanning e-commerce platforms, social media, and other digital marketplaces. AI also identifies patterns and predicts areas vulnerable to counterfeiting.

2. Policy and Supply Chain Interventions

Beyond technology, comprehensive strategies that integrate policies with supply chain practices are essential to combat counterfeiting.

  • Regulatory Compliance: Strict adherence to regional and international pharmaceutical regulations (e.g., DSCSA in the U.S. or EU Falsified Medicines Directive) ensures secure product handling and distribution.
  • Track-and-Trace Systems: Advanced systems allow tracking of products from manufacturing to end-users, reducing opportunities for counterfeiters to infiltrate the supply chain. Integration with IoT devices further strengthens real-time monitoring.
  • Public Awareness Campaigns: Educating consumers about the risks of counterfeit drugs and how to identify genuine ones fosters a vigilant customer base, acting as a deterrent to counterfeiters.

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Human depravity knows no bounds. But thankfully, the wonders of technology are just as limitless. Harnessing anti-counterfeit technology is a powerful way to detect, deter and destroy the market for fake COVID-19 vaccines.