The Wall Street Journal

Pfizer says it has uncovered counterfeit COVID vaccine distribution in Poland and Mexico

Published: April 21, 2021 at 8:24 a.m. ET

By

Jared S. Hopkins and

José de Córdoba

Comments

Vials seized by authorities in separate investigations were tested by the company and confirmed to contain bogus vaccine

A health worker readies syringes filled with Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses at a vaccination center in Rosenheim, Germany, on Tuesday.

christof stache/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

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Pfizer Inc. PFE, +0.26% says it has identified in Mexico and Poland the first confirmed instances of counterfeit versions of the COVID-19 vaccine it developed with BioNTech SE BNTX, +4.48% BNTX, +4.48%, the latest attempt by criminals to exploit the worldwide vaccination campaign.

Vials seized by authorities in separate investigations were tested by the company and confirmed to contain bogus vaccine.

The vials recovered in Mexico also had fraudulent labeling, while a substance inside vials in Poland was likely an anti-wrinkle treatment, Pfizer said.

An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.

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