AstraZeneca was produced in HOAX

Another hoax is spreading through Facebook. This time, the conspirators focused on AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine. Photographs of the vaccine, showing the number 3041572008, appeared on the German television AR. According to conspirators, the last four digits (2008) were to indicate the date of production of the vaccine.

AstraZeneca and the State Institute for Drug Control refuted the hoax

The State Institute for Drug Control (ŠÚKL) refuted this hoax and AstraZeneca explained what the numbers on the vaccine vial actually mean.

The number 3041572008 has nothing to do with the date of manufacture or the expiry date. This number is called component code and is used for internal purposes only.

There are two other numbers on the label. The number AB0003 indicates the batch number, which is indicated by the abbreviation LOT. Below this is the number 05-2021, which is marked with the abbreviation EXP and specifies the actual expiration date.

“The vaccine was certainly not produced in 2008. The date of production of the vaccine is not on the packaging, it is stated in documents that the state institute controls when releasing batches of vaccines to the Slovak market,” said ŠÚKL spokeswoman Magdaléna Jurkemíková.

The numerical codes on the ampoules may be different

The AFP Fakty team turned to Slovak hospitals and asked them to take pictures of the AstraZeneca vaccine vials they are currently vaccinating Slovaks with. All show component code 1423474, multiple batch number ABV2856 and expiration date 05-2021.