The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) alerted local government units (LGUs) on Saturday, May 1, against the possible presence of fake Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines that are allegedly being sold in the market.

“While there is no information yet on the presence of the fake (Pfizer) vaccines in the country, LGUs should exercise increased diligence as these fake vaccines may be dangerous to the health of those who get inoculated,” DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said.

Año made the remark as the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a global warning about the presence of fake Pfizer vaccines that were first discovered in Mexico.

In an advisory, Año ordered all provincial governors, city/municipal mayors, and punong barangays (barangay captains) to be cautious on their vaccine sources or chain of supply, and ensure that all medical products particularly COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019) vaccines must be obtained from authorized/licensed suppliers.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) recently issued a global medical product alert on a falsified COVID-19 vaccine with the product name 'BNT162b2' which claims to be manufactured by Pfizer Biontech. Said product contains the lot number '783201' and stated an expiry date of August 24,’’ the DILG said.

In its global alert, the DILG noted that WHO revealed that the fake vaccine "deliberately and fraudulently misrepresents its identity, composition or source.’’

The WHO said it is still conducting laboratory analysis of the contents of the fake vaccine as it vowed to provide updates as soon as the results are available.

“Ngayong marami na namang kaso ng COVID-19, ang kailangan natin ay pag-iingat at proteksyon laban sa sakit na ito sa pamamagitan ng mga bakuna at hindi dagdag na problema na maaaring idulot ng pekeng bakuna (Now that we have many COVID-19 cases again, what we need is to be cautious and have protection against this disease through vaccines and not additional problems that may be caused by fake vaccines),’’ said Año.

With the WHO alert, Año ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to provide the necessary assistance to investigate if the fake vaccines have already penetrated the Philippine market, and confiscate them at once.

“Inatasan ko na ang PNP na tutukan ang isyu tungkol sa pekeng bakuna para walang mapahamak sa paggamit nito (I have tasked the PNP to focus on the issuet about fake vaccines to avoid any casualties in their use),” he added.

The DILG chief also called on the public to immediately report any information on the presence or use of BNT162b2 in the country to the National Task Force Vaccine Cluster through the e-mail address [email protected] or mobile number +639178237310.

“Mangyari lamang po na ipaalam ninyo sa otoridad ang anumang impormasyon tungkol sa pekeng bakuna para mapigil natin ang pagbebenta nito sa merkado (Please inform the authorities any information about fake vaccine to avoid its sale in the market),’’ Año said.