Over 10,000 doses of an influenza vaccine meant for hospital patients have been stolen from a distribution company in Mexico, authorities there indicated on Friday.
The incident occurred just one week after the theft of close to 38,000 units of a cancer medication.
Mexico’s Federal Health-Risk Protection Commission, COFEPRIS, said the 10,000 doses of the Vaxigrip vaccine were stolen on Monday while they were being transported.
They were meant to be used in a flu vaccination campaign being conducted amid the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus, which has already claimed 85,000 lives and whose symptoms sometimes resemble those of influenza.
COFEPRIS urged hospitals, pharmacies and citizens not to buy the stolen doses, whose integrity, it said, cannot be guaranteed.
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Meanwhile, the Mexican Attorney-General’s Office has announced that 27 bags of cancer medication have been found on the streets of the capital.
However, it has yet to be confirmed whether these were from the batch stolen by armed individuals on 4 October from a laboratory.
Mexico is currently experiencing a shortage of cancer medication for children.
The Brussels Times
