*The US Food and Drug Administration is cautioning consumers against bogus treatments and cures for the virus, as counterfeit products may become more prevalent during the current surge in fresh cases

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

COVID-19 tests of all types are in demand at the start of 2022 as the Omicron variant sweeps across the United States (US), and other parts of the global community.

Subsequntly, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said it is worried that scammers will enter the vacuum to peddle all sorts of plentiful 鈥� but fake 鈥� COVID-19 tests for consumers.

绿帽献妻 gathered the US health regulator revealed that in some regions in the country, supplies of tests are running low.

However, in other places, labs are struggling to get results, said the FDA.

According to the regulator, in some testing venues, there鈥檚 also confusion.

Ingrid, of Williamstown, Massachusetts, related that she encountered a delay in getting her test results from Walgreens and had a hard time getting answers, agency report said.

Ingrid wrote in a ConsumerAffairs review, that 鈥渙ver ten days now and no test results. 鈥淲algreens claims a 24-hour turnaround time–their partner says that is not true.鈥�

Opportunity for scammers.

Due to obstacles, Ingrid and several other consumers are facing in this regard, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declared it is worried that scammers will enter the vacuum to peddle all sorts of plentiful 鈥� but fake 鈥� COVID-19 tests.

The FDA also said in a consumer update: 鈥淪ome people and companies are trying to profit from this pandemic by selling unproven and illegally marketed products that make false claims.鈥�

Besides COVID-19 tests that are unproven and unreliable, the agency is cautioning consumers to be on the lookout for alleged treatments and cures for the virus. Officials say these bogus products began appearing early in the pandemic but may become more prevalent during the current surge in new cases.

The FDA thus far has granted emergency use authorisation to only three vaccines. The mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna require two shots, along with a recommended booster.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single shot, and a booster two months later is highly recommended, report said.

Restating its words of caution to consumers, the agency said one can鈥檛 buy real treatments from a Web site.

The regulator also approved several drugs and antibody cocktails to treat the Coronavirus, but they all must be prescribed and administered by a health care provider.

They are not available for purchase from a website, stated the FDA.

The FDA further said that it continues to work with vaccine and drug manufacturers, developers, and researchers to help facilitate the development and availability of medical products 鈥� such as additional vaccines, antibodies, and medicines 鈥� to prevent or treat COVID-19.

According to FDA, fraudulent COVID-19 products can be packaged and presented in many different ways.

They might take the form of dietary supplements and other foods, as well as products claiming to be tests, drugs, medical devices, or vaccines.

Nonetheless, the FDA has been able to remove dozens of misleading or counterfeit products from store shelves and from Web sites.

The agency will continue to monitor social media platforms and online marketplaces to prevent the promotion and sale of fraudulent COVID-19 products, according to report.

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