The Bureau of Customs (BOC) warned Filipinos over the proliferation of counterfeit coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines being manufactured locally.
The entities behind the production and sale of these fake vaccines might take advantage of the government’s go signal for private sectors to import anti-COVID jabs, the BOC said.
“With the standing directive by the national government to authorize private sectors to import COVID-19 vaccines, unscrupulous entities might take advantage to profit during the pandemic by illegally manufacturing counterfeit vaccines locally,” the bureau said in a statement Wednesday, March 31.
These counterfeit or fake vaccines may pose harm to public health and safety, it added.
Instead of patronizing such vaccines, the public is encouraged to receive vaccinations in government-accredited hospitals and clinics only as strongly urged by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The agency also called on the public to report any unauthorized sale, distribution, and administration of COVID-19 vaccines and counterfeit drugs.
Meanwhile, BOC has guaranteed the swift processing of shipments of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies, as well as authorized COVID-19 vaccines.
As of today, a total of 15,715 shipments of PPE and five shipments of COVID-19 vaccines totalling more than 2.5 million doses of either Sinovac and AstraZeneca jabs have been cleared and released by the bureau.