Police departments in Jiangsu, Beijing and Shandong have arrested more than 80 people involved in the manufacture of more than 3,000 counterfeit doses of Covid-19 vaccine, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Xinhua said the Chinese Ministry of Public Safety is investigating crimes related to the manufacture and sale of counterfeit vaccines “and the illegal use of drugs and fraud under the guise of the vaccines.”
Police have found that those involved have been “making huge profits since September 2020 by filling saline injectors to process and sell counterfeit coronavirus vaccines at a higher price,” the agency said.
China has vaccinated its population with shots from two companies, Sinovac and Sinopharm, and both have also been rolled out in other countries, including Turkey.
Sinovac assisted the vaccine, even though some countries had considered it and interrupted its implementation, but scientists called on the company to release more information.