The Philippine College of Physicians through its Committee on Advocacy, Subcommittee on Pharmacovigilance, would like to warn its members and the public regarding the existence of counterfeit influenza vaccines.  This is in the light of reports this last week of July of the seizure of P4 million worth of fake flu vaccines filled with distilled water and the arrest of a trader who was a former medical representative, during an operation conducted by operatives of the NBI Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division (AFCCD) in San Pedro, Laguna.  According to officials of the Department of Health, these reports may just be the tip of the iceberg as they are now also receiving reports of some groups going around small offices to peddle supposedly approved flu vaccines at "attractive" prices.

The PCP members and the public are therefore cautioned to obtain vaccines only from reputable and BFAD accredited suppliers.  In a public advisory published in the major newspapers last July 28, the BFAD warns all drugstore owners and/or their pharmacists to exercise extra diligence in buying this vaccine and any other drugs. Acting BFAD Director Nazarita Tacandong wrote, “they should buy only from sources duly licensed by BFAD and always demand sales invoices or receipts from their sources indicating therein the name of the drugs and medicines purchased and their respective lot numbers and expiry dates. Refusal of the source to issue and/or indicate the aforementioned information should give rise to suspicion and must be reported immediately to BFAD."

Flu vaccines are available either as pre-filled syringes or vials.  It may be difficult to distinguish the fake vaccines from the authentic vaccines but it may be possible to spot both the subtle and obvious differences. To ensure the integrity of the vaccines, check the following:

1. For pre-filled syringes, the vaccines must be in a sealed packaging (carton) containing the manufacturer label and lot number. The seal is usually also printed with the name of the company and not just an ordinary tape.

2. If the vaccine is in vials, ensure that the vials are the original containers and the metal crimping seal is intact and unopened.

3. Check the label as some fake vaccines have labels that were printed with ordinary desktop printers that easily blot when wet or which are not as clear as the original labels.

Sanofi Pasteur also published in the major newspapers a public notice last August 02, 2009.  The article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer gives the following distinguishing points between authentic and counterfeit vials.

According to the Sanofi Pasteur advertisement, the NBI has confiscated counterfeit VAXIGRIP vaccines with the following batch No. D12228, Manufacturing Date: 18-Dec-08 and Expiry Date: 18 Dec-09.

In the Philippines, there are 4 brands of flu vaccine that are available in the market: Vaxigrip, Fluarix, Agrippal S1 and Influvac. Other brands of vaccines that are being sold may be suspicious. Vaccines sold at a significantly lower amount than the market price are also considered suspect.  As well, the public is warned about buying these vaccines on-line since it may be difficult to verify the authenticity of the source. 

To report any information about fake flu vaccines, the public may call up the BFAD Hotline 842-5606, BFAD Regulation Division 809-4390 local 1131 or NBI Hotline 524-5395 and 525-4093