BioPharm International - October 2021

BioPharm-October 2021-Regulatory-Sourcebook

Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1420307

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 5 of 33

6 BioPharm International eBook October 2021 www.biopharminternational.com The Real Danger of Substandard and Counterfeit COVID-19 Vaccines Low- and middle-income countries are at the greatest risk of receiving substandard and falsified COVID-19 vaccines. A s t h e C OV I D -19 p a n d e m i c c o nt i n- ues, one pressing concern for the indus- tr y is ensuring the supply of legitimate COV I D -19 v a c c i ne s . It i s e s t i m ate d t h a t 3 0 .7 % o f p e o p l e g l o b a l l y h a v e received at lea st one dose of a COV I D -19 v acc i ne , while 16% of the world population is fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data (1). In a 2021 report from ResearchAndMarkets.com, three different potential scenarios for the f ut ure of COV ID-19 vaccines were forecasted (2): • Annual COVID-19 vaccines for all. • Indiv iduals 65 years of age and older will get annual COV ID-19 vaccines, while ever yone else receives the vaccine every two years. • Individuals 65 years of age and older will get a COVID-19 vaccine every two years, while everyone else receives the vaccine every five years. No matter the scenario, COV ID-19 vaccines will be important in the coming years. Therefore, now more than ever, the supply chain needs to be secure to ensure the popu- lation can have access to legitimate vaccines. But substandard and falsified COVID-19 vaccines—commonly referred to as counterfeit vaccines—continue to be a threat globally. Accord ing to a statement f rom t he World Hea lt h Organization (WHO): • "A substandard medical product is one that is out of specif ication (usually due to a manufacturing error, degradation, or expired). • "A fa lsif ied medica l product is one that deliberately or fraudulently misrepresents its composition, identity, or source." MEG RIVERS Regulatory Sourcebook Drug Safety LEIGH PRATHER - STOCK.ADOBE.COM

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of BioPharm International - October 2021 - BioPharm-October 2021-Regulatory-Sourcebook