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| - Fact Check: Beware of 'Covipri', the fake Remdesivir injection circulating on social media
As the nation's healthcare system is on its knees due to massive spike n Covid cases, a fake claim of an injection named "Covipri" is doing the rounds on social media.
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India Today Fact Check
“Covipri” is a fake medicine and not a Remdesivir injection. Delhi Police has warned people that no Remdesivir by the name “Covipri” exists.
At a time people are desperately looking for treatment against Covid-19, an injection named “Covipri” is circulating on social media, with many referring to it as the Remdesivir injection.
Remdesivir is not a magic drug against Covid, but doctors are using it on a case-to-case basis to reduce severity of the infection. Hence, this medicine is on high demand and there is shortage of supply.
In the meantime, an image of “Covipri” packets, with “Remdesivir” injection written on them, is being shared on Facebook. Many users are claiming that the drug is available and people who need these for Covid patients can contact them.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that “Covipri” is a fake medicine and not a Remdesivir injection. Delhi Police has warned people that no Remdesivir injection by the name “Covipri” exists. The racket has been busted by Delhi Police, but some injections are still in circulation and authorities have warned people not to buy them from unverified sources.
The archived versions of the Facebook posts are saved here, here and here.
The fake “Remdesivir”
The viral image of “Covipri” circulated on social media raises several questions on the authenticity of the drug as it is punctuated with grammatical errors. For example, it is written, “For used in India only. Not for export”, which is wrong English.
The “Caution” part says, “It is a dangerous to take this preparation Except under medical supervision”, which again is a grammatically wrong sentence. The address given as manufacturer’s details is also grossly incorrect. Two places are mentioned Mettupalayam and Singtam with the claim that both are in Sikkim. But while Singtam is in Sikkim, Mettupalayam is in Tamil Nadu.
Delhi Police recently arrested five people and unearthed a ‘pharmaceutical’ unit at Kothdwar in Uttarakhand manufacturing large quantities of fake Remdevisir injections (COVIPRI) sold at over Rs 25,000.
AFWA spoke to Monika Bhardwaj, DCP (Crime), Delhi Police, who is investigating the matter. She revealed that “Covipri” is a fake drug and not a Remdesivir injection. “We initially suspected that they were only black-marketing the drug, but digging deeper, we found that a fake drug manufacturer was behind the racket,” she said.
As revealed by the DCP, the accused have used the name of a different manufacturer and printed the address and other details on their own. The IPS officer said that though they’ve busted the racket, some injections may still be in circulation. She cautioned people not to buy this drug from unverified sources.
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