COVID-19 and counterfeit vaccines: Global implications, new challenges and opportunities

Supply chain traceability and counterfeit detection of COVID-19 vaccines using novel blockchain-based Vacledger system

“…Counterfeits act as a barrier to innovation, hinder investment in research and development and weaken intellectual property laws. The most recent study ( Amankwah-Amoah, 2022 ) emphasizes health-related implications, such as a wrong feeling of protection against a harmful virus and a possible loss of faith in trustworthy treatments. Although counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines are on the rise, they revealed only replication and acceleration of a worldwide trend.…”

“…Globally, there have been more than 663,242,233 COVID-19 cases and more than 6,691,208 fatalities ( Worldometers, 2023 ), bringing many countries’ economies and organizations to their knees, and hindering growth and development. Prior to the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine, the issue of counterfeits was widespread in many developing nations ( Amankwah-Amoah, 2022 ). The fast spread of the virus across national boundaries has made it virtually impossible for governments to contain and manage the epidemic.…”

“…Counterfeit vaccines are unregulated and incorrectly labeled vaccines whose identity and origin are hidden or intentionally misrepresented. Inadequacies in these vaccinations include false labeling, insufficient or incorrect component amounts, improper or absence of packaging, and the results of uneven vaccine distribution ( Amankwah-Amoah, 2022 ).…”

COVID‐19 pandemic, vaccine nationalism and counterfeit products: Discourse and emerging research themes

“…Following the preceding analysis, one of the outcomes of the unequal distribution of vaccines has been the spread of counterfeits COVID vaccines (see Amankwah‐Amoah, 2022 ). Some contend that vaccine “hoarding” by advanced nations has not only created conditions for “vaccine nationalism” (Neuman, 2020a ; 2020b ), but also created the conditions forcing many developing nations and citizens to explore other means of accessing the vaccines.…”

Economic Evaluation: Advantages of Implementing Drug Track and Trace beyond Health Benefits

“…Covid vaccines consist of a market of US$ 150 billion [10], which granted Pfi zer, for example, a profi t of US$ 37 billion in 2021. Due to the intense demand for the vaccine, parallel markets grew by 400%, according to estimates [11,12], and led to several registers regarding the administration of fake vaccines at least in India, Mexico, and Poland [10,11].…”