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Covid-19 alert: Beware of falsified medicines & unauthorised websites

| Updated on March 28, 2020 Published on March 28, 2020

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is urging the general public not to buy medicines from unauthorised websites and other vendors aiming to exploit fears and concerns during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Vendors may claim that their products can treat or prevent Covid-19 or may appear to provide easy access to legitimate medicines that are otherwise not readily available. Such products are likely to be falsified medicines. Falsified medicines are fake medicines that vendors pass off as real or authorised. They may contain the wrong or no active ingredient or the right ingredient in the wrong amount. They may also contain very harmful substances that should not be in medicines. Taking such products can lead to severe health problems or a worsening of your condition.

To protect yourself from fraudulent vendors, only buy medicines from a local pharmacy or retailer or from an online pharmacy that is registered with the national competent authorities. All registered online pharmacies have a common logo that you can use to confirm that the site is registered. The logo consists of a rectangle with horizontal stripes and a white cross placed in the left half of the rectangle adjacent to the midline. Below this is the flag of the EU country where the online pharmacy is registered.

Source: EMA

Published on March 28, 2020

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