The United Kingdom is the first-ever country in the world, who are rolling out a large-scale of the Sars-CoV2 vaccine. It has been learnt that the dark web is heavily flooded with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine meant for sale. The UK has officially ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine or BioNtech’s coronavirus vaccine. It is expected that 800,000 doses of the vaccine would be arriving within the next couple of days and that at the minimum 50 hospitals across the UK are preparing for the roll-out.
A news portal, however, has reported that the unverified doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine have been readily sold on the various dark web markets where the per dosage is costing around $1300. This incident is blatantly exploiting the excessive demand for the vaccination in the second round of the Covid-19 pandemic. Against the listed vaccines on the dark web, a unique description is provided that reads:
“The doses of the COVID-19 vaccine [have] been developed by Pfizer and BioNTec”, adding that “…we can deliver in any country”.
Blatantly profiting from anything, especially from the goods and services that are in high demand in the pandemic is nothing new. This profiteering included a considerable number of remedies that have been advertised online such as the Sanna Makki herb in Pakistan proving to be diarrheic. Another example that has been prominent in this pandemic is vendors purchasing huge stocks of sanitizers along with the substandard protective gear and selling them online for acquiring massive returns.
Humanistically, profiteering amidst the crippling global pandemic could be available on the cost of the human lives, and the fabricated vaccines are nothing different especially the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on the darknet could possess a threat to those who are desperate to get immunized from the virus.
According to Dr. Barbara Mintzes, Associate Professor at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Center and School of Pharmacy, in an interview, urged consumers to remain vigilant, stating that “if a person is buying a prescription medicine or something like a vaccine, are they actually getting what they think they’re getting? There is absolutely no assurance”. Furthermore, she commented on the logistical complexities of shipping vaccines around the world, stating that “the vaccine needs to be kept at minus-70 degrees centigrade”, and that a vial of the vaccine cannot merely be shipped out without specific precautionary measures.
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine sale along with the other vaccines on the various deep web marketplaces, if proved to be legitimate, would expose the loopholes in the mechanism of the supply chain. It would also deprive the ones of the vaccines who need it the most and makes the vaccines available to those who are willing to risk hefty amounts in order to gain it.
On the contrary, if the vaccines are not legit, the consumers would be duped into paying a lot of money for a toxic substance that would further pose a threat to their health. Some of the consumers might get conned of the illegit vaccines and believe that they are vaccinated. More to it? They might be vulnerable to the virus or even worse than that.
Source: Business Recorder
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