The World Health Organization (WHO) said it has identified counterfeit versions of India’s primary Covid vaccine, Covishield.
It also said the vaccine’s maker, Serum Institute of India, confirmed that the doses were fake.
The WHO warned that fake vaccines “pose a serious risk to global public health”.
The doses were seized by authorities in India and Africa between July and August, according to a WHO statement.
There has been no official statement by the Indian government, but local reports said the country’s health ministry was investigating the matter.
Covishield is the Indian-made version of AstraZeneca’s jab and is the most widely used vaccine in India with more than 486 million doses administered so far.
India, which is the second worst-affected country in the world, aims to vaccinate all its people by the end of this year.
About 13% of the population has been fully vaccinated since the beginning of the vaccination drive in January.
