China police dismantle fake COVID-19 vaccine ring
Police in China have dismantled a ring that was making fake COVID-19 vaccines, arresting more than 80 people.
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported that the gang had been putting saline water into vials and selling them as coronavirus vaccines since last September.
Police have traced where the counterfeit vaccines ended up.
The arrests were made in several locations across Beijing and multiple cities in the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Shandong.
During the operation, police also seized “more than 3,000 fake COVID-19 vaccines on the spot.”
According to Xinhua, China’s Ministry of Public Security is probing crimes related to the manufacturing and selling of counterfeit vaccines “and the illegal practice of medicine and fraud under the guise of the vaccines.”
The crackdown comes as China races to inoculate its population before the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February.
The holiday is marked with a travel rush, but authorities have urged people to stay home this year, introducing a mixture of restrictions and incentives.
China has been inoculating people with jabs from two companies, Sinovac and Sinopharm.
Sinopharm’s vaccine was approved for general use in December last year.
Last week, Hungary approved China’s Sinopharm vaccine, becoming the first European Union member country to give approval to the inoculation.
China vows 'necessary measures' in response to new US sanctions
China says US still interfering in its affairs despite efforts to stabilize relations
Philippines, US kick off drills in disputed waters of South China Sea
Hamas says seeks ‘comprehensive truce' as Israel hell-bent on war, blockade
VIDEO | Press TV’s news headlines
Iraq’s Islamic resistance hits two Israeli military bases with drones
VIDEO | An Insider’s View of the Country: Agricultural Products in Birjand and Kharg Island
UNRWA chief: Israel continues to deny humanitarian access to UN in Gaza
VIDEO | Iraqi lawmakers call for expulsion of US ambassador from country
VIDEO | Al-Qassam rocket strike kills, wounds over dozen Israeli soldiers
OIC denounces Israeli genocide in Gaza, urges sanctions against regime
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
