China arrests 70 for producing, selling fake COVID-19 vaccines

Beijing, Feb 15: China has arrested 70 people for producing and selling fake coronavirus vaccines in 21 separate cases, the state media reported.

One group of suspects made a profit of about 18 million yuan (over Rs 20 crore) by packaging mineral water in 58,000 doses of the fake vaccines, it added. Fake vaccines were also sold for vaccinations at hospitals, it further said.

In other cases, fake vaccines were sold at high prices, included in emergency inoculation schemes at hospitals, or smuggled abroad, it added.

China's Supreme People's Procuratorate urged regional agencies to cooperate with police in swift and unwavering action to curb such activities, the agency said.

One group of suspects made a profit of about 18 million yuan ($2.8 million) by packaging saline solution or mineral water in 58,000 doses of spurious vaccines, Xinhua said, identifying its leader, arrested last Christmas Day, only by the surname Kong.

China, which had given 40.52 million doses of vaccine to key groups of people by Tuesday, has largely managed to bring the pandemic under control with strict lockdown, testing and tracing measures.