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The black market for COVID vaccines and proof of vaccination is growing rapidly as people tire of restrictions and are anxious to return to normalcy. It is also driven by the inequitable distribution of vaccines, leaving many low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries behind.Many of the dangers are obvious—a person may become more ill or die because of receiving an ineffective medicine for their illness. Less obvious is that counterfeit antibiotics can promote antibiotic resistance and fuel the spread of drug resistant organisms throughout communities.Fake vaccines—substituting plain salt water for a vaccine, for example—might not cause immediate harm, but may fuel distrust about vaccines’ effectiveness. People will falsely assume that they are protected and engage in risky behaviors.One of the problems with these scams is that they not only hurt individuals, but they hurt all of us. Until we get widespread vaccine uptake and herd immunity, we will not stop the spread of coronavirus, and mutant strains will proliferate.