Police in China have broken a counterfeit ring that they say has produced and sold more than 3,000 fake vaccines against the coronavirus across the country, Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency, reported Monday.
More than 80 suspects have been arrested in Jiangsu and Shandong provinces, Beijing city and other places, Xinhua said.
Police said the prime suspect, a person nicknamed Kong, had been injecting saline solution into vials since September and selling them as coronavirus vaccines.
“The production and sale of fake vaccines are crimes of a despicable nature and can cause serious harm,” said Xinhua. It added that police were urging members of the public to get vaccinated “through mainstream channels to avoid deception.”
The arrests began with an order from the Ministry of Public Security to address vaccination-related crimes. Late last year, demand for Covid-19 vaccines in China was so high that it inspired a cottage industry of scalpers that charged a whopping $ 1,500 for an appointment.
The government is also wary of the possible political ramifications of another vaccine scandal. In recent years, reports that Chinese companies have fabricated data about their vaccines or made vaccinations that have made infants sick have shaken public confidence in domestic vaccines even though they have been proven to be safe. Many affluent parents shun them in favor of their Western counterparts.
Unlike many other countries, China has not announced 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 of vaccinating 50 million people by February 12, the start of the Lunar New Year.