How to spot a fake Remdesivir injection during the second Covid-19 wave

Remdesivir injection is prescribed for Covid-19 patients who exhibit severe symptoms. Taking advantage of the short supply of Remdesivir, some people were found selling the drug at highly inflated prices in the black market. Fake Remdesivir injections have also been seized by police at many places.

To curb such instances, IPS officer and DCP of the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police, Monika Bhardwaj took to Twitter and posted tweets pointing out the difference between a genuine Remdesivir injection and a fake version. These are simple checks to identify a fake Remdesivir jab from the genuine one.

1. Fake Remdesivir packages do not have “Rx” written on them just before the name of the injection.

2. There is an alignment error where the brand name of the product is written. Note the gap on the package of fake and genuine Remdesivir injections, the fake one has an increased gap.

3. There is a capitalisation error in the third line written on the package in the word 'Vial'. The genuine package has the letter 'V' capital while the fake one has a small 'v'.

4. Just below the warning label, key information “Covifor [brand name] is manufactured under the license from Gilead Sciences, Inc” is missing on the fake injection package.

5. There is a spelling error in the full address on the package containing the fake Remdesivir injection, it spells Telangana as “Telagana”.

6. There is another capitalisation error below the brand name (COVIFOR) in the word “Vial". The genuine package has the letter 'V' capital while the fake one has a small 'v'.

7. On the backside of the box, the “Warning” label is red in colour on the genuine package whereas the fake one has a black colour warning label.

8. One more capitalisation error is found at the backside of the box in the word "India". The genuine package has the letter 'I' capital while the fake one has a small 'i'.

Disclaimer: editorji does not provide medical advice. The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained in this story are for informational purposes only. No material in this video is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have related to Covid-19.