How To Check Fake Vaccines? Govt Issues Guidelines For Covishield, Covaxin, Sputnik Vaccines

The Government of India has issued guidelines about the authenticity of Covaxin, Covishield, and Sputnik. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that fake vaccines have been identified in South-East Asia and Africa.

Here is a complete list of guidelines that will help us identify the authenticity of the three vaccines:

Covishield

• The  SII product’s label shade is dark green and the colour of the aluminium flip-off seal is dark green.
• The brand name along with the trademark will be present on an original vaccine.
• The lettering will be printed in special white ink to be more clear and readable.
• The SII logo will be printed at a unique angle and position which can be identified only by a few authorities who are knowledgeable about the details. 
• The text font is Generic, and is not bold.
• There also is the overprint “CGS NOT FOR SALE”.
• The label is also given a special honeycomb effect, visible only at a specific angle.
• This honeycomb design has been altered a bit at strategic locations and some specific additional special elements have been added to the texture design. However, these elements are not visible to people in general but those who are aware of the subtle changes can verify the authenticity of the label and the vial.

Covaxin

• On the label of the vaccine, there is an invisible UV helix or a DNA-like structure. This label is visible only under UV light.
• The micro text hidden in the label claims Dots, which is written as Covaxin.
• There also is a green foil effect in the X of the Covaxin
• A holographic effect on Covaxin

Sputnik

• Separate labels are designed for the two bulk manufacturing sites where the Sputnik vaccine is produced. Every other detail, like the information and design are the same, except for the name of the manufacturer..
• As of now, the English label is available only on the front and the back side of the carton of 5 ampoule pack for all the imported products. Whereas, on all the other sides, there will be a primary label on the vaccine ampoule is in Russian script.