TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – Chinese police have arrested more than 80 suspected members of a criminal group that manufactures and sells counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines, including to other countries.
Police in Beijing and Jiangsu and Shandong provinces have dismantled the group led by a suspect named Kong, who produced fake vaccines that consist of a simple saline solution, the official Xinhua News agency reported.
The vaccines have been sold in China and other countries, although it was unclear which one. The group has been active since September last year, according to state media.
“China has already reported the situation to the relevant countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday.
“The Chinese government greatly appreciates the safety of vaccines and will continue to work to strictly pursue any counterfeiting, counterfeiting and illegal business and other related actions involving vaccines,” Wang said. “At the same time, China will strengthen our law enforcement cooperation with relevant countries, in order to seriously prevent the spread of such illegal and criminal actions.” He did not provide further details.
China has a long history of vaccine scandals resulting from manufacturing problems as well as trade practices. In 2016, police arrested two people dealing with a ring that sold millions of improperly stored vaccines across the country.
In response to recent scandals, China has reformed vaccine safety regulations and increased criminal sanctions for those caught making counterfeits.
Internally, many Chinese citizens did not trust domestic vaccines, and polls have previously shown that confidence in vaccines has declined after scandals like the one in 2016. However, since the pandemic hit, confidence has been high. A total of 74% of respondents in a recent survey published in the Chinese business magazine Caixin said they would get a COVID-19 vaccine if it became available.
China has at least seven COVID-19 vaccines in the latest stage of clinical trials and has one that has been approved for home use by Sinopharm State.
Chinese vaccine manufacturers have taken advantage of the pandemic’s opportunity to become global, with Sinopharm and other Chinese companies transacting or donating their vaccines to at least 27 countries around the world.
Domestically, China has administered more than 24 million doses of its domestic vaccine candidates as part of a mass vaccination campaign. To date, it has refrained from administering the vaccine to older people, targeting key groups such as health workers and workers in the food-related industries, as well as adults aged 18-59.
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Beijing Associated Press researcher Liu Zheng contributed to the report.