FDA was coordinating with BOC in order to avoid the entry of fake COVID-19 vaccines, according to Duque.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was coordinating with other government agencies like the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in order to avoid the entry of fake COVID-19 vaccines.
This came amidst reports of a crackdown on doses of counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines from China.
When asked if the Department of Health had already put in place measures in order to bar the entry and proliferation of bogus COVID-19 vaccines in the Philippines, Duque said that there’s already coordination between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) to really scrutinize the documents of arriving COVID-19 vaccines and for them to have orientation regarding the said matter.
“At ako naman ay nakakasiguro na itong mga pekeng bakuna na ito — ay harinawa ay ‘di makapasok at kung saka-sakali naman makapasok — ‘don pa lang sa border controls natin ay talagang mapigilan na at maimbestigahan at makasuhan ang mga salarin, so ‘yan po ang pinaghahandaan,” Duque said.
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China’s state news agency Xinhua on Tuesday said that more than 80 people were arrested in different police operations conducted in Shanghai, Beijing, and the eastern province of Shandong wherein 3,000 doses of fake COVID-19 vaccines were seized.
Further reports had shown that the sinister scheme had been going on since September 2020. As per the news report, the fake COVID-19 vaccines only contained saline — a solution of salt and water.
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