BML 5.00 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.6%)
BOP 13.34 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (1.91%)
CNERGY 7.15 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.42%)
CPHL 86.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.71 (-0.82%)
DCL 14.15 Decreased By ▼ -0.23 (-1.6%)
DGKC 169.24 Decreased By ▼ -1.32 (-0.77%)
FCCL 46.06 Decreased By ▼ -0.64 (-1.37%)
FFL 15.83 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-0.94%)
GCIL 26.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.15%)
HUBC 147.49 Decreased By ▼ -0.38 (-0.26%)
KEL 5.41 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (1.5%)
KOSM 6.42 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-1.23%)
LOTCHEM 20.61 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.39%)
MLCF 84.99 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.19%)
NBP 127.50 Increased By ▲ 1.15 (0.91%)
PAEL 42.26 Decreased By ▼ -0.99 (-2.29%)
PIAHCLA 22.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.57 (-2.52%)
PIBTL 8.83 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.56%)
POWER 13.98 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.29%)
PPL 168.24 Decreased By ▼ -0.52 (-0.31%)
PREMA 42.89 Increased By ▲ 0.29 (0.68%)
PRL 32.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.28 (-0.84%)
PTC 23.92 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-0.42%)
SNGP 118.43 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-0.11%)
SSGC 45.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.48 (-1.04%)
TELE 8.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.73%)
TPLP 10.22 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-1.54%)
TREET 23.27 Decreased By ▼ -0.65 (-2.72%)
TRG 57.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.47 (-0.81%)
WTL 1.54 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.65%)
BR100 13,919 Increased By 63.9 (0.46%)
BR30 40,004 Decreased By -184.6 (-0.46%)
KSE100 137,233 Increased By 730.5 (0.54%)
KSE30 41,800 Increased By 247.6 (0.6%)
World

Chinese police bust counterfeit Covid-19 vaccine ring

  • Since the virus emerged in 2019, China has charged thousands of people with crimes related to the pandemic, including spreading "rumours", concealing an infection and not complying with guidelines.
Published February 2, 2021

BEIJING: Chinese police have arrested more than 80 people who were making counterfeit Covid-19 vaccines, state media said, as China races to inoculate millions before the Lunar New Year holiday.

The gang had been putting saline water into vials and selling them as Covid-19 vaccines in an operation that had been running since last September, according to Xinhua news agency.

Police swooped on several locations across Beijing and multiple cities in the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Shandong, seizing "more than 3,000 fake Covid-19 vaccines on the spot," Xinhua said.

It has not been made public how many vaccines were sold, but police have traced where the vaccines ended up, it said.

China has been racing to develop homegrown jabs and aims to vaccinate 50 million people before the start of the Lunar New Year in mid-February.

The holiday normally spurs a travel rush with hundreds of millions traversing the country -- though authorities are encouraging people to stay home this year through a mixture of restrictions and incentives.

As China ramps up its vaccine campaign, authorities have repeatedly assured the public of the jab's safety and efficacy, despite not releasing any detailed clinical trial data.

State-owned firm Sinopharm's vaccine was approved by Chinese regulators for general use in December.

Since the virus emerged in 2019, China has charged thousands of people with crimes related to the pandemic, including spreading "rumours", concealing an infection and not complying with guidelines.

The country is also no stranger to vaccine scandals.

In 2018, leading vaccine manufacturer Changsheng Bio-Technology was fined $1.3 billion after regulators discovered its vaccines were substandard, which hugely damaged public trust in vaccines at the time.

Comments

Comments are closed.