Warning COVID vaccines could be sold on dark web

Chinese authorities have already been forced to respond to posts on WeChat purporting to sell doses of a vaccine in phase three human trials.

The posts were taken down, but it's not clear if any were sold, or if the products were authentic.

In a parliamentary hearing focusing on the pandemic's effects on criminal activity, Professor Roderic Broadhurst from Australian National University's Department of Regulation and Global Governance said governments all over the world needed to be ready for fake vaccines, and even real vaccines, to be marketed on the dark web.

"It can be expected that a viable treatment and a preventive vaccine will be the subject of falsification, theft and diversion by organised criminal groups," Professor Broadhurst said in his submission.

Products touted as treatments for COVID-19 have been appearing on the dark web since April, he said, including disproven drugs like hydroxychloroquine, and developing countries were at particular risk of the movement of these products.

"The absence of an effective, comprehensive and enforceable regulatory framework in many countries to address substandard and falsified medical products, in particular medical devices, has life-threatening consequences and is a challenge for the global community," he wrote.

READ MORE:

Professor Broadhurst said it wasn't enough for individual countries to be monitoring such activity, but a worldwide coordination effort was needed.

"We need to know what is actually happening in relation to the likely diversion of vaccines, we don't have an international system as yet to protect supply chains," he told the hearing.

"The absence of international coordination in addressing the manufacturing and trafficking of falsified medical products hinders a cohesive approach to responding to this type of crime which impacts individual and public health both locally and on a global basis," the submission said.

There was already evidence of other vaccines being diverted or faked, Professor Broadhurst said, showing how likely it was that the same could happen with a potential COVID-19 vaccine.

"Crime follows opportunity and and they will look for those sorts of opportunities," he said.

"We just have to accept the fact that it will happen I guess we hope it won't happen on scale."

Australian Border Force deputy commissioner Justine Saunders told the committee the threat had been recognised by government, and her agency was already coordinating with the Therapeutic Goods Administration over the illegal importation of medical goods, including medications and personal protective equipment that may be substandard.

Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs Mike Pezzullo also assured the committee the Australian government was aware of the issue and would be "ensuring nothing other than the most robust integrity measures are built in" to any vaccine rollout.