Rapporto ISS COVID-19 n. 15/2020 English version -Recommendations on risks related to the online purchase of drugs for prevention and therapy of COVID-19 infection and to the dissemination of fake news about therapies on social networks. Version April 16, 2020

Istituto Superiore di Sanità
Recommendations on risks related to the online purchase of drugs for prevention and therapy of COVID-19 infection and to the dissemination of fake news about therapies on social networks. Version April 16, 2020.
ISS Working group on Drugs COVID-19
2020, ii, 19 p. Rapporti ISS COVID-19 n. 15/2020 – English version

The report presents an overview about the problem of online sales of drugs advertised for prevention and therapy of COVID-19 infection and gives information about risks associated with purchasing medicines from unauthorized online pharmacies and “do it yourself” therapies. The document reminds that according to Italian law it is allowable to buy only medicines sold without a prescription and only from online pharmacies authorised by the Ministry of Health. The authors monitored websites that sell drugs being currently tested for COVID-19 infection therapy and they verified that a thriving illegal market that is taking advantage of the sanitary emergency exists. The document also reviews the main fake news about prevention and therapy of the infection circulating on social networks.