Drug dealers on the darknet are taking advantage of the news that the United Kingdom approved the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, touted as a symbolic milestone in the fight against the pandemic.
Immediately after the good news, drug dealers started peddling the “Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine” on the darknet, according to VICE World News. It found that multiple vendors on the darknet appeared to be selling doses of the vaccine to global customers for as much as USD$1,300 each.
“The doses of the COVID-19 vaccine has [sic] been developed by Pfizer and BioNTec,” the product description reads. “We can deliver in any country.”
The darknet drug dealers claiming to be pharmacists told the media outlet that they obtained the vaccine through government agencies and already sold it to multiple customers. One claimed to have a stockpile of about 560 doses.
Dr. Barbara Mintzes, associate professor at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre and School of Pharmacy, called on consumers to be more careful.
“There are so many red flags here, it’s hard to know where to start,” she said. “Even just on the regular Internet, there’s that whole question of if a person is buying a prescription medicine or something like a vaccine, are they actually getting what they think they’re getting? There’s absolutely no assurance.”
Mintzes was puzzled how sellers claim to be able to ship the COVID-19 vaccines.
“This is a particularly odd one,” Mintzes added, “in the sense that the vaccine needs to be kept at minus-70 degrees centigrade. And this is before it has even been rolled out for use in the UK.”
Mintzes said a vial of Pfizer isn’t a type of drug that can be shipped out in the post. She added that it remains unclear how sellers or “pharmacists” are able to acquire the drugs.
