Chinese police dismantled a counterfeiting network that they said manufactured and sold more than 3,000 fake coronavirus vaccines across the country, Xinhua, China’s state news agency, said on Monday.
More than 80 suspects were arrested in Jiangsu and Shandong provinces, Beijing city and elsewhere, Xinhua said.
According to the agency, police said the main suspect, a person with the surname Kong, had been injecting saline into vials and selling them as coronavirus vaccines since September.
“The manufacture and sale of fake vaccines are crimes of a vile nature and can cause serious harm,” Xinhua said. He added that the police were urging the public to get vaccinated “through regular channels to avoid being deceived”.
The arrests began with an order from the Ministry of Public Security to crack down on vaccine-related crimes. At the end of last year, demand for Covid-19 vaccines in China was so high that it inspired a homemade money changer industry that charged up to $ 1,500 for an appointment.
The government also fears that it will have to deal with the possible political consequences of another vaccine scandal. In recent years, reports that Chinese companies have manufactured data on their vaccines or made inoculations that have made babies sick have shaken public confidence in domestic vaccines, although they have proven to be safe. Many wealthy parents avoid them in favor of their Western counterparts.
Unlike many other countries, China has not signaled that it plans to vaccinate its entire population of 1.4 billion people. It vaccinated about 24 million people, mostly essential workers, about half of its goal to inoculate 50 million people by February 12, the beginning of the Lunar New Year.