Jail for man trying to sell unapproved flu vaccine

News from our backyard that should be noted by anyone seeing flu vaccine on the shelves of their local convenience store. Mahmoud Abuarqoub, the former owner of a 7-11 in Atlantic City, was convicted of attempting to sell 5,000 doses of unapproved flu vaccine to N.J.-area hospitals during the 2004 vaccine shortage. The vaccine had been manufactured in France and distributed via a Saudi Arabian company, but it was not licensed for use in the U.S. The Cherry Hill (N.J.) Courier-Post has the story, as does the Associated Press.

The Courier-Post headline calling the vaccine 'fake' is misleading, as the doses in question were actual flu vaccines approved for use internationally. (The vaccine was Vaxigrip, manufactured by Sanofi-Pasteur.) As the story notes, it's unlikely there would have been any public health risk had the vaccines been purchased by hospitals and administered. (Neither happened.) Nevertheless, this type of conduct by individuals is strongly discouraged, to say the least. Mr. Abuarqoub's conduct netted him 3 years in federal prison for mail fraud, introducing an unapproved new drug into interstate commerce, introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, wholesale distribution of drugs without a license and smuggling.