PAHO: Only take covid19 shots through national programmes

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) urged people on Thursday to get covid19 vaccinations only through their country's national immunisation programme.

In a press release, PAHO warned that getting vaccinated outside legal programmes could be dangerous to your health.

The recommendation comes in response to reports of counterfeit or unauthorised vaccines in some Latin American countries, such as Bolivia, Colombia, and Mexico.

In March, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a global alert about counterfeit Pfizer/BioNtech vaccines in Mexico.

PAHO said: “People are advised to use only authentic vaccines as directed by national authorities, to seek the advice of a health professional if in doubt, and, if they know of any suspicious incidents, to report them to the authorities so that the products can be identified and withdrawn from circulation.”

It said the covid19 pandemic has led to an increase in substandard, counterfeit, and unregistered medical products worldwide.

In the case of vaccines, this could lead to "increased prevalence of covid19, potential adverse and even toxic or fatal events, and loss of trust in the health system, as well as social and economic consequences of unpredictable magnitude," it warned.

PAHO urged strengthening co-ordination between health, law enforcement, and customs authorities in preventing, detecting and responding to incidents involving substandard or counterfeit products.

It also recommended that governments increase their surveillance of illegal offers of covid19 vaccines, especially on the Internet, social media and at retail stores.

Other recommendations are:

Implement strategies for the destruction and/or final disposal of packaging, containers, vials, boxes, and labels of legitimate vaccines used in national immunisation schemes

A robust traceability mechanism for covid19 vaccines to minimise the risk of diverting them from legal channel

To immediately notify WHO – through the rapid alert system – of any suspected or confirmed vaccine counterfeiting.