Cutting off the fake vaccine supply chain

PETALING JAYA: Preventive measures are being put in place by e-commerce and social media sites to curb any unscrupulous attempt to falsely peddle “Covid-19 vaccines.”

Shopee Malaysia’s operations director Esten Mok said it has mechanisms to ensure that listings of so-called “Covid-19 vaccines” do not get published on its platform.

“We have a team that regularly screen product listings to make sure they do not violate our policies.

“If products are found to be illegal or do not meet our stringent standards, we will remove the product listing and take swift action against the sellers, ” he said.

Mok also stressed that a recent viral image depicting the sale of Pfizer’s vaccine on Shopee was fake.

Mok added that Shopee has also taken pre-emptive measures to blacklist any related keywords for Covid-19 vaccines to intercept attempts to sell such items on its platform.

“When, in isolated cases, determined bad actors manage to evade these screening processes, we take immediate action to protect the Shopee community.

“We also encourage users to reach out to Shopee if they encounter similar listings on our platform, ” he said.

Facebook temporarily prohibited advertisements which promote certain high-demand products related to Covid-19, including content promoting the sale of vaccines.

A Facebook spokesman said it has taken “aggressive steps” to keep people safe and informed.

“We also have robust policies to protect people from those trying to exploit this emergency for financial gain, ” the spokesman said.