The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has advised the public to avoid purchasing products advertised as COVID-19 vaccines on the internet.
The FDA issued the alert on Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in a statement.
According to the FDA, the alert was prompted by reports of fake COVID-19 vaccines being discovered in South Africa.
“The FDA would like to remind the public that online advertising, offering for sale, and distribution of medicinal products, including COVID-19 vaccines, is strictly prohibited. As a result, no COVID-19 vaccines should be purchased online.”
The FDA also warned courier services, such as shippers and freight forwarders, against bringing any unapproved vaccines into Ghana, citing Section 118 of the Public Health Act and the FDA’s Guidelines for Emergency Use Authorization of Medical Products (FDA/GEN/GL-EUA/2021/04) as examples.
The statement warned that COVID-19 vaccines should only be imported by and through the Ministry of Health.
“Any suspicious activity(ies) relating to the advertising, offering for sale, and supply of COVID-19 vaccines and/or related products should be reported to the FDA. All reports/complaints will be kept strictly confidential.”
“To date, the only COVID-19 vaccines authorised for use in Ghana are SPUTNIK V and COVISHIELD vaccines,” the FDA stated in the statement. Furthermore, only the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service have control over the importation and deployment of these two vaccines in the country.”
On Wednesday, February 24, 2021, the government of Ghana received its first batch of Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India under the Global Access (COVAX Facility).
Ghana has received over 700,000 COVID-19 vaccines so far for its vaccination campaign.
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Read the full statement below:
SOURCE: ATLFMNEWSONLINE
