Swine flu scam artists about to start
Filed under: Technology, Health
As swine flu vaccinations started this week across the country in the government's effort to immunize more than half the nation in a few months, expect online scammers to begin doing their thing by selling fake vaccinations.The small initial shipments of the real vaccine are being reserved by most states for doctors and other front-line health workers, and the roll-out to combat the H1N1 strain should be in full swing in a few weeks with at least 40 million doses available.
But The Daily Beast warns that scam artists from Internet "pharmacies" are lining up to bridge the gap between supply and demand.
It reports that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the World Health Organization and the pharmaceutical industry are preparing for an onslaught of fake and substandard drugs. Unauthorized versions of Tamiflu, the patented Roche vaccine, are expected to hit the Internet.
"We don't know what we could be seeing in the next few weeks," Gary Coody, who coordinates health care enforcement for the FDA, told The Daily Beast. "They (Internet drug operators) don't necessarily have any regard for public=health safeguards."
Leave it to scam artists to fill a void in the marketplace.
So beware, and if you're so anxious about getting a swine flu vaccine, talk to your doctor first.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-07-2009 @ 1:54PM
Darwin's Finance said...
There's an enormous difference between counterfeit drugs (which we all know have been around for years) and sterile injectible vaccines. People don't self-inject for the most part unless they're diabetic. I can't see 99% of the typically gullible public buying a fake injectible device through the internet with the intent of self-administering. The stakes are much higher (infection/death for a counterfeit injectible vs. likely no active ingredient in a tablet [albeit very rare deaths do occur]). It's a much bigger stretch than a tablet of Tamiflu, which isn't really news since we've known about small molecule oral delivery counterfeiting for years now.
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10-07-2009 @ 10:51AM
NJAICV said...
The first round of H1N1 "swine Flu" vaccines offered to the public are not the injection type but the LIVE virus spray "FluMist" version. This type of vaccine can be spread by the recipient for 21 days after wards. Read more about the adverse reactions and risks associated with this current swine flu vaccination program, the history of the 1976 swine flu vaccine fiasco and suspension of that program due to the vaccine causing Guillian-Barre Syndrome and more deaths than the actual swine flu virus at www.NVIC.org
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10-08-2009 @ 10:53AM
Darwin's Finance said...
First of all, your comment is not relevantto counterfeiting but is the typical anti-vaccine rheotoric. Also, the flu-mist is being primarily distributed to health care professionals since the injectibled are not widely available yet. Most of the general public will be getting shots. Regardless, many vaccines are administered live and flu mist has been around for years. Your claims are unsubstantiated and only seek to further confuse people who aren't knowledgable on the topic. We will not see a repeat of 1976 as you claim ( where are all the cases of GB Syndrome in the volunteers tested to date?). I know, it's cool in some circles to float conspiracies and claim the govt and industry are conspiring to cover up big evil plans. The reality is the vaccines are safe and you'll be wishing you were vaccinated when it hits you. I've seen it time an time again with people that are anti-vaccine. They really chnage their tune once they're afflcited with the malady which could have been easily prevented.
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