Understand in one article: How to identify fake vaccines in special times?

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, vaccines have become the focus of public attention. As vaccines have been launched one after another, counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines have occurred frequently at home and abroad. How to identify fake vaccines? Before large-scale counterfeiting occurs, we will give you some tips in advance.

Image source: Pexels

Author: Cao Guoying, Wang Shuai, Cao Ying, Beijing Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Development Foundation, China National Institute for Inspection and Quarantine Rapid Test Research Group

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, vaccines have become the key to winning the fight against the pandemic. As various vaccines have been launched one after another, counterfeit "COVID-19 vaccines" have occurred frequently at home and abroad. Recently, public security organs in Jiangsu, Beijing, Shandong and other places successfully cracked a major case of manufacturing and selling fake COVID-19 vaccines. In order to make huge profits, the suspects used physiological saline to impersonate COVID-19 vaccines and sold them, bringing great risks to the national epidemic prevention and control work.

Although there are currently few "new crown vaccines" on the market for "emergency use", rumors of "appointment vaccination" have been circulated in various places. According to the information currently available, a surge of counterfeiting is coming at home and abroad. Counterfeiting speculation in extraordinary times seems to be inevitable, but we will not sit idly by. It is very necessary to issue a national warning to produce "antibodies" to resist counterfeit vaccines.

Why do fake vaccines appear? How to effectively identify and prevent fake vaccines? Which vaccines are easily counterfeited? In addition to providing professional and innovative guidance for internal reference of the regulatory system, this article also organizes a set of simple methods for the public to prevent fake vaccines. I hope to help everyone fully understand vaccine counterfeiting.

Note: This article was jointly completed by the Beijing Yangtze Pharmaceutical Development Foundation and the China National Institute of Inspection and Quarantine's rapid inspection research team. It is positioned as a public and popular social science article. In addition, in order to prevent counterfeiters from breaking speculation, the domestic "new crown vaccine" has more professional and detailed other authenticity inspection and internal identification technologies, which are not listed here for the time being.

01 How big is the market demand gap for "new crown vaccine" at home and abroad?

According to data released by the World Health Organization (WHO), as of December 29, 2020, there are 8 categories of COVID-19 vaccines under development worldwide, 172 candidate vaccines in preclinical stages, and 60 approved clinical trials. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that with a global population of about 7.8 billion, the demand for COVID-19 vaccines will still far outstrip supply for a certain period of time due to the complexity of the COVID-19 vaccine development process, high risks, high costs, and limited production capacity.

According to the estimation of the global demand for COVID-19 vaccines by well-known domestic experts and experts from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, it is usually possible to establish a relatively stable herd immunity barrier only when 70% to 90% of the population is immune to the new coronavirus. That is, based on the global population of 7.5 to 7.8 billion, herd immunity to the new coronavirus requires 5.25 to 6.75 billion people to be immune. Considering that some vaccines require two doses to have an immune effect, the world is currently in urgent need of at least 10 billion doses of "COVID-19 vaccines."

In the current global vaccine market, the four major "vaccine giants" such as GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi, Merck, and Pfizer usually account for more than 90% of the vaccine market. Among them, GSK vaccines are almost ranked first in the world, but the number of vaccines available each year is only about 1 billion doses. The production of 10 billion doses of vaccines is an astronomical figure for the global vaccine production capacity. According to the production capacity of the only few manufacturers that have already started to market for emergency use, it is almost difficult to achieve this number within 2021.

Although my country is relatively advanced in vaccine research and development, if a relatively stable 70-80% herd immunity barrier is established, at least 900 million to 1.2 billion people will have to be vaccinated. According to the 18 companies that are being designed and promoted in China to expand the annual production capacity of the new crown vaccine to about 1.8 billion doses (or even more), it is possible to achieve 900 million vaccinations in my country, but there are still many difficulties and obstacles in the short term. In addition to the P3-level production workshop that meets GMP standards, there are also factors such as raw material supply and the number of imported resources. In addition, there are also various factors such as changes in vaccine accessibility caused by the research and development cycle of existing types of vaccines against new coronavirus mutations.

From another perspective, the United States has emerged with "vaccine hegemony and nationalism" and refused to join the Global COVID-19 Vaccine Implementation Plan (COVAX). The governments of the two major economies, the United States and the European Union, have already monopolized purchase orders of 900 million doses in advance. It is expected that developed countries around the world will purchase more than 1 billion doses, and have booked to purchase 80% of the future vaccine supply share. The international COVID-19 vaccine resource capacity supply is seriously insufficient. And Chinese vaccines, especially for "poor friends" in small and medium-sized developing countries, will certainly provide more support and assistance. If China supports about 3.5 billion people in developing countries, China is likely to allocate 71% of its production capacity. Although China's epidemic is well controlled, the domestic demand situation is still very severe. Some experts also predict that by 2025, after the global epidemic is basically under control, the market demand for "COVID-19 vaccines" may gradually shrink.

*COVAX: The program was created by the Global Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations in April 2020, and China officially joined on October 8, 2020. Currently, more than 180 countries and regions have pledged to join, and it is expected to provide 2 billion doses of new crown vaccine public health products to the world by the end of 2021)

"Emergency Use" label. At present, the world is in urgent need of at least 10 billion doses of "new crown vaccine". Although 900 million people can be vaccinated in China, there are still many difficulties in the short term.

02 Why do criminals choose the "new crown vaccine" as a key target for counterfeiting?

The severe "new crown epidemic" situation at home and abroad and the severe shortage of "new crown vaccine" in the market will inevitably make some lawless elements see an opportunity to take advantage of it, take risks and engage in speculation and fraud.

The current global epidemic prevention and control situation is severe. According to the data of the World Health Organization on January 20, 2021, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of "new coronavirus pneumonia" in 220 countries and regions in the world has exceeded 100 million, and the number of deaths has exceeded 2 million. There are about 250 candidate vaccines for the new coronavirus under development in the world, and at least 60 of them are entering clinical trial evaluation and have not yet been officially launched. There are currently 17 institutions in China that are researching or have already had individual products (conditionally) launched.

In accordance with the "Vaccine Management Law", my country officially launched the "emergency use" of the new crown vaccine (within a certain scope and time limit) on July 22, 2020. Nearly 40 million people have been vaccinated in the emergency population. Some provinces and cities are expected to expand the vaccination population on a larger scale after the Spring Festival. However, there are still conditional restrictions and the vaccination has not been carried out on a larger range of people who should use it nationwide, and the huge gap in the market still cannot meet the needs. The current market price of domestic vaccines is less than 500 yuan per dose, and the country will implement a free vaccination plan for all people. "Free for all" may have a great impact on the sales volume of the domestic counterfeit vaccine market, but criminals still have the opportunity to use counterfeit vaccines to fill the scarce market by taking advantage of time differences, special groups, online e-commerce, functional fraud, remote areas and other factors. After analysis, the main factors in the target selection of counterfeiters are as follows:

1) Factors of domestic and foreign market demand: the current epidemic situation means that the quantity of free supplies is extremely scarce and cannot meet market needs; 2) Factors of special drug price temptation: the initial price of vaccines is high and very tempting (it is currently difficult to provide free vaccines to all people); 3) Factors of delayed treatment effect: after the vaccine is used, its immune effect itself cannot be quickly and intuitively manifested from the appearance; 4) Factors of undercurrent operation in sales channels: the product is easy to sell privately and secretly, and special groups can easily avoid regulatory attention; 5) Factors of difficulty and complexity of detection technology: the appearance characteristics of vaccine products are slightly different and difficult to detect and discover; 6) Factors of packaging material structure: the product uses commonly used packaging materials and ordinary packaging printing design, which is easy to imitate; 7) Factors of drug equipment process production: it is an injection pre-filled preparation or vial packaging, which is very easy to make by hand; 8) Factors of drug ingredient lethality risk: there is almost no risk of lethality, the cost of violating the law is low, and the probability of being reported and seized is extremely low; 9) Factors of drug sensory properties substitution: there are many products with similar appearance characteristics at home and abroad, and it is simple and convenient to change the label and imitate.

The "National Free Vaccination Program" will have an impact on the sales volume of fake vaccines, but criminals can still use a variety of factors to fill the scarce market. The picture shows a comparison between real and fake vaccines, the packaging is very similar.
These fraudulent factors, coupled with the “vaccination rumor notices” that have appeared in provinces and cities across the country (the purpose of the rumors: the covert sale of counterfeit vaccines; phishing fraud; obtaining personal information; deliberately riding on the popularity of online hot spots), are all signs that have exposed the underground undercurrent of fraud and should arouse sufficient vigilance.

03 What are the typical incidents of counterfeit "new crown vaccines" that have been discovered at home and abroad?

At present, counterfeit "new crown vaccine" products have appeared in individual "spot-type" situations in some countries and certain domestic regions. As various types of "new crown vaccines" at home and abroad continue to be officially launched on the market, batches of counterfeit "new crown vaccines" will also wait for the opportunity to be launched, and a counterfeit peak will surely appear soon.

After studying the "reverse deductive analysis technology", the relevant expert team had inferred and designed an early warning model to simulate counterfeit "new crown vaccines" as early as the early stage of the epidemic in February 2020. It has been confirmed that the "new crown vaccines" that are counterfeit by using "flu vaccines" in black markets in Europe, the United States, and South America, and the cases of "fake vaccines with replacement of signatures", "fake vaccines with replacement of medicines", and "normal saline vaccines" found in China are completely consistent with the counterfeit "new crown vaccine" model methods predicted by experts a year ago.

An example of a fake COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, the main counterfeit cases include "fake vaccines with signature changes", "fake vaccines with medicine changes", "normal saline vaccine", etc.

These cases are:
Case 1

：Recently, the public security organs in Jiangsu, Beijing, Shandong and other places have successfully cracked a major case of manufacturing and selling fake COVID-19 vaccines. Since September 2020, the criminal suspect Kong Mou and others have used physiological saline to counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines for huge profits. That is: pre-filled syringes (assemblies) are injected with physiological saline to make fake COVID-19 vaccines, and then sold at a higher price. At present, in accordance with the unified deployment of the Ministry of Public Security, the counterfeiting dens have been destroyed, the criminal chain has been cut off, more than 80 criminal suspects have been arrested, and more than 3,000 fake COVID-19 vaccines have been seized on the spot. The flow of the counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines manufactured and sold by Kong Mou and others has been identified (Xinhua News Agency).

Case 2: Domestic media confirmed that there were cases of counterfeiting pre-filled injection packages of "new crown vaccines" with physiological saline and distilled water in Fujian (Fuqing) and other places. Some were even unlabeled and privately contacted for injection and vaccination, and some were directly labeled as counterfeit new crown vaccines from domestic vaccine manufacturers. Due to the sensitive period of epidemic prevention and control and the strict regulatory environment, criminals adopted the method of private "point-to-point" activities and transactions, taking advantage of network communications, electronic payments, logistics and transportation, etc., which are all natural and convenient means for criminals to sell counterfeit products without meeting in person.

Fake vaccines in Fujian cost 4,000 yuan per shot, but many people are still deceived.

Case 3: The Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) recently received a complaint that someone in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro State, bought a so-called "COVID-19 vaccine" developed by Oxford University, which was later tested to be a counterfeit product. Others are selling fake Chinese "Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines", which include all the certificates and are sold for 50 reais. If consumers request an injection on the spot, they need to pay an additional 10 reais. (CCTV News Client reporter Tang Ye)
Case 4: Counterfeit European and American mRNA vaccines: Counterfeit European and American mRNA COVID-19 vaccines have also appeared on the Brazilian black market. Because the official recommendation is to store them at -70°C, the black market counterfeiters put liquid nitrogen tanks next to the freezer just for show. Some black market forces also got a large number of expired flu vaccines from previous years, cleaned the text on the original labels with organic solvents, and then affixed labels marked "Covid Vaccine-19" to pretend to be COVID-19 vaccines and sold them to bad doctors. (China Economic Net)

Case 5: Recently, some people in the UK and the Italian capital of Rome have been selling "Chinese vaccines" among the public or family doctors. On November 17, 2020, the Chinese Embassy in Italy issued a notice to refute the rumors: reminding Chinese people not to believe in rumors and privately trade the so-called "Chinese vaccines."

Case 6: According to the Hungarian United Daily News, as soon as the COVID-19 vaccine came out, more and more people tried to use fake vaccines to cheat money. Some scammers used very modern methods to sell the complete version of the COVID-19 vaccine online. Generally, no one can tell whether the vaccine is real or fake, because the medicines look the same, and the vaccine can only have numbers and labels. (China News Service)

The situation is not optimistic but it is expected. In 2020, Europol issued a warning to its 194 member states: the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine shortages will inevitably give rise to a huge counterfeit "COVID-19 vaccine" market, and all countries should pay attention to "identifying and combating counterfeiting." At present, there are many cases of counterfeit "COVID-19 vaccines" at home and abroad, especially the "Chinese vaccines" that were launched relatively early. Counterfeit Chinese vaccines abroad will continue to appear, and it is inevitable that relevant forces will take the opportunity to politically discredit and question Chinese vaccines. Therefore, the "counterfeit vaccine phenomenon" should be given more attention by us.

04 Which types of "new crown vaccines" and manufacturers' products at home and abroad are more likely to be counterfeited and faked?

There are many types of "new crown vaccines" currently being developed at home and abroad. The development and use of "new crown vaccines" is a stress response product for the whole world or all mankind. After the outbreak, my country quickly established a scientific research team to promote vaccine development in parallel from five major technical directions: inactivated vaccines, genetically engineered recombinant subunit vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, attenuated influenza virus vector vaccines, and nucleic acid vaccines.

The analysis of the types and manufacturers of vaccines that are easily counterfeited at home and abroad is relatively complicated. Based on the analysis of the counterfeiting patterns of criminals, the products that first enter the market (for emergency use) are usually the main targets of counterfeiting and the key varieties of imitation by criminals.

When the supply of phased emergency vaccines (such as inactivated vaccines) is eased, adenovirus vector vaccines, recombinant subunit vaccines, etc. will be the focus of counterfeiting due to their advantages such as higher anti-mutation effect, only one injection, and more than 90% immunity rate. However, nucleic acid vaccines and mRNA vaccines are generally launched later due to factors such as the research and development cycle. At the same time, due to risk control restrictions such as high allergic mortality rates, storage and transportation packaging conditions (-70°C), and use environment, they may not be the main target options for counterfeiting at present. Therefore, the "Chinese vaccine" is more likely to be counterfeited at home and abroad at this stage, and the counterfeit new crown vaccine in Europe and the United States is expected to appear in the domestic market in a few months.

The following are some vaccines that have attracted more attention at home and abroad:

1) China-Convidecia (Ad5-nCoV). China-CanSino/Chinese Academy of Military Science. Type: Adenovirus vector. The world's most convenient COVID-19 vaccine (only one injection is required), with an efficacy of up to 97% (as of December 2020).

2) China: CoronaVac, Sinovac Biotech. Type: Inactivated. 3) China: Sinopharm Group China National Biotec Group-Wuhan Institute of Biological Products/Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Type: Inactivated.

4) China: Aviciv: Sinopharm Group China National Biotec Group: Beijing Institute of Biological Products/Institute of Viral Disease Prevention and Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Type: Inactivated.

5) UK: ChAdOx1-S Developed by: UK-AstraZeneca/Oxford University adenovirus vector. 6) USA/Germany: BNT162b2. Pfizer USA & BioNTech Germany. Type: mRNA. Disadvantage 1: Extremely high transport and storage conditions, -70℃. Disadvantage 2: Severe allergies (there is news of severe allergic history in the UK).

7) United States: mRNA-1273. United States - Moderna. Type: mRNA.

8) Russia: Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac, successfully registered in Russia on August 11, 2020). Type: Adenovirus vector (double).

9) United States: Ad26.COV2.S (September 2020): United States - Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Pharmaceuticals. 10) United States: NVX-CoV2373 (September 2020): United States - Novavax.

11) Russia: EpiVacCorona (registration completed in October 2020) Novosibirsk Scientific Research Center.

12) China: Zhifei Biotech COVID-19 vaccine (Phase II clinical trial unblinded on October 22, 2020). China Zhifei Biotech-Longcoma/Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Type: recombinant subunit vaccine. 13) India: Covaxin (Indian Bharat COVID-19 vaccine, Phase III trial on November 16, 2020): Indian pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech/Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The following figure shows the appearance characteristics of some vaccines launched abroad

References: China-Sinovac CoronaVac, United States Pfizer, Moderna, Russia's Sputnik V, AstraZeneca, Germany's BioNTech: mRNA, India, United Kingdom, Canada, etc.

There are currently six COVID-19 vaccines that are conditionally available for marketing (emergency use) or have entered Phase III clinical trials in my country. The basic features of the manufacturers' packaging labels are as follows (including some packaging labels in the experimental stage):

1. Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Sinopharm Group China National Biotec Group: "New Coronavirus Inactivated Vaccine"

2. Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd. under Sinopharm Group China National Biotec Group; "New Coronavirus Inactivated Vaccine"

3. Beijing Sinovac Biotech Co., Ltd.: The "new coronavirus inactivated vaccine" is available in vials (for easy storage and transportation) and pre-filled syringes (for easy use)

4. CanSino Biologics, Institute of Bioengineering, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Academy of Military Sciences: "Recombinant novel coronavirus vaccine (adenovirus vector)" developed by Chen Wei's team

5. Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences; “Novel Coronavirus Inactivated Vaccine” (clinical trial on May 23, 2020)

6. Anhui Zhifei Longcom Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd./Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; "Recombinant novel coronavirus vaccine (recombinant protein vaccine)" (clinical trial on June 19, 2020)

These six vaccines may also redesign the printing and packaging layout and use new packaging materials after the products are officially launched. However, no matter which packaging logo and material, as long as it has been used by the manufacturer or clinically, it is a sample and target for counterfeiters to imitate and pursue. Therefore, it is particularly important and necessary to understand and analyze the characteristics and rules of the manufacturer's packaging logo and grasp the important features in order to recognize and analyze risky varieties.

According to the Implementation Measures of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Ad5-nCoV is currently limited to internal use in the military, and the scope of vaccination cannot be expanded without the approval of the Logistics Support Department of the Central Military Commission. CanSino Biologics also stated that it cannot guarantee the successful commercialization of Ad5-nCoV.

05 What are the methods and raw materials used to counterfeit "new crown vaccines" at home and abroad?

Based on the public reports of domestic and foreign media on the counterfeiting of "new crown vaccines" by counterfeiters, combined with the historical counterfeiting patterns and appearance characteristics of vaccines and medicines that we have mastered, we generally analyze the following counterfeiting methods:

1. Direct counterfeiting. The corresponding product manufacturers are completely counterfeited from packaging, labeling, anti-counterfeiting, and internal drugs. Some use injection water, saline, glucose, and other vaccine adjuvant formula ingredients (similar in appearance to vaccines) purchased directly from the market to directly counterfeit (the cost is only a few cents). The characteristic is that it does not contain any effective immune ingredients, the number of counterfeit vaccine batches is large, and it can be sold domestically and overseas through indirect channels such as multinational e-commerce.
2. Fraud by replacing the label. Using other types of pre-filled vaccine preparations with similar appearance and shape, replacing the packaging label, or smearing and changing the printed font to commit fraud; this fraud model is characterized by easy operation, easy availability of similar-looking products in the market (such as influenza vaccines, other expired vaccines, etc.), and almost no obvious toxic side effects from micro-injections; but due to the limited number of products obtained, different gangs will produce more counterfeit versions.

3. Counterfeiting by replacing medicines. Directly through various channels (such as illegal drug dealers, nurses, care workers, cleaners, garbage collectors, etc.), collect the packaging boxes, labels, pre-filled injection equipment, etc. of the original regular manufacturers, re-fill them with drugs with similar appearance to counterfeit, and even refill the pre-filled vaccine injections into the original packaging for sale. Counterfeiting characteristics: The scale of counterfeiting by replacing medicines will not be large, but the "point distribution" is highly concealed.

Flu vaccine (mostly colorless and clear); COVID-19 vaccine (generally slightly turbid or slightly turbid due to differences in process formula)

4. Interchange of use. This usually happens during the vaccination process at a few medical institutions. Because of the high price of the vaccine, they use various means to tamper with the vaccine. There are mainly the following ways:

Dressing change: In some very rare medical institutions, vaccine injection staff will privately refill used packaging and pre-filled syringes with saline or glucose injection solution, then store them in the original packaging boxes for safekeeping and mark the appearance for reuse. It is generally difficult to detect.

Interception: When using vaccines, due to the small amount of vaccines themselves, the general amount of the new crown vaccine is 0.5 ml each time, the needle tube advancement distance is not obvious, the injection is not complete and thorough, and the person being injected is generally difficult to notice. In addition, the vials packaged in multiple doses have greater loopholes, and 4 doses are secretly used to inject 5-6 people. Although it is usually necessary to match the vaccination barcode with the vaccine person's information for registration, loopholes are inevitable. Some people swap the packaging boxes of their own vaccine recipients and use them interchangeably on the spot like a magic trick. This method is easy to avoid the patient's sight, and it is almost impossible to verify and detect after use. If it is found that the swapped drugs have been used, it is almost impossible to collect evidence and test them again.

Mixing: Genuine and fake drugs are mixed together and used, especially in mass vaccinations, which leaves room for large loopholes.

In order to prevent the above situations from occurring, loopholes can be rigorously eliminated through multiple steps, including verification and checking by multiple people including the user, and the immediate "destruction" of the syringe after vaccination, to prevent substitution and counterfeiting.

06How can the general public more easily distinguish fake "new coronavirus vaccines"?

Since the identification technology of pharmaceutical products is very professional, and the identification technology of biological products and vaccines is even more professional, as a general consumer, in addition to going to regular places to get the new crown vaccine to prevent counterfeiting, it is a relatively easy method to use traceability (tracing) information verification. In addition, we also introduce several simple identification methods for preliminary reference from the perspective of general experience and appearance, which are called "one check, two look, and three comparison".

One check: Check the source, "traceability information code verification" to verify the authenticity of the "new crown vaccine"

We can verify the special traceability code in the packaging label by scanning with a mobile phone or querying on the Internet: At present, the "traceability information code" and "code-assurance" in the packaging label of medicines and other listed products are very common, but the new crown vaccine has not yet been officially launched or is in the research stage, and is generally not marked with "traceability information code" or "code-assurance". Only in the stage of large-scale production and large-scale market application (or conditional market) will the manufacturer upload all information such as production batch number, production date and expiration date to the "traceability information code" or "code-assurance" system platform in a timely manner. Consumers and relevant regulatory inspections, medical institutions should pay special attention to this when accepting and using.

In addition, the "traceability information code" and "code for peace of mind" in normal packaging labels are personalized codes, and each box is different. There are several ways for criminals to counterfeit "traceability information code" and "code for peace of mind". Be vigilant: one is repeated printing of codes (the value of the traceability code on each packaging box is the same); the second is to replace the packaging code (using the original authentic packaging box); the third is to forge codes randomly (although it is a personalized code, it cannot be verified).

The labeling, query verification and use principles of the "traceability information code" and "code peace of mind" on the packaging labels of some foreign pharmaceutical products are basically similar to those of my country. At present, most of them can be effectively queried by scanning the traceability barcode or QR code on the packaging label through a mobile phone. This method is also called extended information verification (source tracing method). It is to track the source of vaccines, verify the qualifications of manufacturers, verify the qualifications of products, confirm administrative supervision, review network data, query barcodes, registration numbers, and verify import and export products.
Second look: turbidity and label

Look at the turbidity: Appearance clarity characteristics: The COVID-19 vaccine is often the same as other vaccines. The number of injections is small, and the appearance difference is relatively small. Generally, the difference is only in the form of packaging and packaging: However, the COVID-19 vaccine clarity (turbidity) characteristics are obviously turbid (the degree of turbidity varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and there is obvious flocculent precipitation after standing). If physiological saline, water for injection, influenza vaccine, etc. are used to impersonate the COVID-19 vaccine, they are relatively clear and colorless, with almost no precipitation.
Look at the label: Features of the inner label of the vaccine: The genuine manufacturer automatically affixes the label, and each one is evenly, evenly, and neatly placed; the counterfeit ones are mostly hand-painted with text smeared or hand-painted. The position is uneven, and there are obvious stains or fingerprints on the surface.

Three comparisons: batch number, process and anti-counterfeiting

Compare the consistency of the batch numbers marked inside and outside; compare the regularity of printing and packaging (handmade or automatic process); compare whether the anti-counterfeiting mark (or the sensitivity of the temperature-sensitive mark) is the same as the manufacturer's product;

07 What specific harms will counterfeit "new crown vaccines" cause? How to prevent risks most effectively?

So what specific harms will fake "new crown vaccines" cause, and how can we effectively prevent risks? Regarding its harms, we have summarized five points:
1. No immune effect: After the injection, it has no functional effect, cannot produce antibodies, and has no immune effect in preventing and controlling the new coronavirus.
2. Personal injury: contamination by impurities, microorganisms, other ingredients, etc. can all cause harm to the human body.
3. Enterprise harm: In terms of economic damage and corporate reputation, if counterfeit products occupy a certain market share, it will inevitably affect the market share of regular enterprises. If the society is not aware of it, it will inevitably tarnish the image of regular enterprises.
4. Social harm: Panic caused by the epidemic and impact on social credibility; it is very easy to lead to the spread of the epidemic, the decline of social governance and control, and the "taking advantage of others' misfortune" will also benefit the lawless elements who rob and rob, and the abnormal flow of social wealth resources.
5. National harm: Especially at present, when the world is in a severe situation of fighting the epidemic and in a politically sensitive period, labeling a country as a "fake vaccine" will directly affect a country's international political reputation, and some extreme and evil countries will use this to smear and hype.
As an ordinary consumer, it is difficult to accurately distinguish the authenticity of the "new crown vaccine". However, with a little knowledge, there are still ways to effectively prevent the harm of counterfeit vaccines. The following necessary measures can generally help us avoid harm.
First, strictly follow the relevant national regulations, correctly understand the new crown vaccine, and scientifically, rationally and objectively understand the function of vaccine prevention and control. Trust the country, ensure not to believe in rumors or spread them, and immediately contact the relevant departments to report any suspicious individuals who contact you privately.
Second, you should get the vaccine at a designated vaccination site; strictly register your identity and take the initiative to record the vaccine traceability code information you use (take photos); check the used vaccine packaging, syringes and equipment and "destroy them" on site;
Third, after a certain period of time after vaccination, it is best to do an antibody test in a timely manner if conditions permit (generally unified group organization testing will be faster and easier to find problems: vaccine quality, authenticity, and vaccination mix-up).
Fourth, when you are harmed by suspected counterfeit vaccines or question the quality of vaccines, you should consult, complain and report in a timely manner.

08 How to make complaints when you find suspected counterfeit "new crown vaccine"?

Overall, our analysis of the trends in counterfeiting and selling fake products is as follows: the number of counterfeit domestic vaccines (latter stage of vaccine launch) will continue to increase, with the main channel being the sale of fakes on e-commerce platforms; counterfeit imported vaccines (mid-to-late stage of vaccine launch) will also increase in a few months; fake vaccines will appear in local areas; the printed packaging logos are in foreign fonts, and the packaging is counterfeit imported vaccines, with reasons such as "strong resistance to mutant viruses" that are relatively confusing.
It is expected that fake vaccine incidents will occur sporadically in local areas. Judging from the loopholes in the management, production, circulation and use of vaccines, there are many links to prevent counterfeiting, and timely reporting is crucial. We can report to the following departments:

1. Complaint and Reporting Center of the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau; 2. Health administrative departments; 3. Public security food and drug criminal investigation related agencies (major cases); 4. Relevant communities and other competent authorities;
Provide: relevant evidence, bills, physical samples, audio and video, pictures, communication records, etc.

Appendix: In order to provide everyone with a more comprehensive understanding, several domestic legal and innovative technical methods (professional authenticity identification technologies) are also listed here. Of course, the specific technical details are not suitable for public disclosure for the time being.

1. National statutory standard inspection and identification methods (biological identification technical methods); 2. Rapid detection and screening technical methods (multi-band spectral analysis technical detection, microscopic identification, physical constant detection); 3. Information tracing (tracing back) verification and comparison holographic verification method; 4. Intelligent big data similarity verification and comparison method; 5. Inspection and investigation comprehensive analysis technical methods.
Since this article is positioned as a popular science article, in order to prevent counterfeiters from deciphering speculation, more professional and detailed internal identification techniques are not presented for the time being. I hope everyone will be more vigilant and not fall into the trap of speculators.

(China's "emergency listing" vaccine)

Editor | Liang Jin

Editor | Gao Peiwen

This article is produced by the "Science Rumor Refutation Platform" (ID: Science_Facts). Please indicate the source when reprinting.