Virtual workshop co-hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Việt Nam Directorate of Market Surveillance, the US Homeland Security Investigations and Pfizer Vietnam held on Wednesday to train officers on distinguishing genuine and counterfeit COVID-19 vaccine products ahead of shipment of the vaccine to Việt Nam in July. — Photo from the Việt Nam Directorate of Market Surveillance

HÀ NỘI — The genuine Pfizer vaccine is only supplied via bilateral deals with Governments, said John Paul Pullicino, Chief Representative of Pfizer Vietnam, during an online training session for a Government market watchdog on Wednesday.

The event was co-hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Việt Nam Directorate of Market Surveillance, the US Homeland Security Investigations and Pfizer Vietnam. It was held to help the officers distinguish genuine and counterfeit vaccine products ahead of the upcoming shipment.

Pullicino said Pfizer recently struck a deal with the Vietnamese Government to provide 31 million doses.

On June 12, the Health Ministry’s Drug Administration granted conditional approval of Pfizer vaccine for emergency use in the country.

Its delivery is scheduled for the third and fourth quarters. The first shipment could arrive in Việt Nam in July, he noted.

Vanessa Piepenburg, representative of global security for Pfizer Singapore, said authentic Pfizer vaccines are held in small colourless glass bottles with a volume of 2ml. Each has six doses.

In almost all countries, it is labelled Pfizer & BioNTech. While in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan (China), it will be Fosun and BioNTech.

At present, this type of vaccine has yet to be available for commercial orders and any commercial transactions involving private entities are illegal. It is only transported to recipient countries from Brussels, not India or China, and would not be shipped in individual doses, she said.

The Pfizer representatives also vowed to form partnerships with alliances against fake goods and legal enforcement forces to ensure security for their product.

Trần Hữu Linh, director of the Directorate of Market Surveillance, praised the efforts by Pfizer to share information regarding the vaccine to the Vietnamese law enforcement, especially amid the current global shortage which is a ripe environment for scams. — VNS