China uncovers 58,000 doses of fake COVID-19 vaccines

Chinese police say it has uncovered a number of cases involving the production and distribution of fake COVID-19 vaccines.

According to NAN, the country’s prosecutor general’s office said the vaccine doses are up to 58,000.

A statement from the Supreme People’s Procuratorate said a group of suspects led by a ring leader, identified as Kong, was detained by the police in November 2020 for producing about 58,000 doses of fake COVID-19 vaccines made of simple saline resolution.

The statement said Kong’s group generated 12 million yuan (about $1.86 million) in profits through the sales of the fake vaccines.

In a related case, a number of suspects bought the fake COVID-19 vaccines and tried to smuggle them overseas.

A batch of 600 doses of the fake vaccines was transported to Hong Kong in November 2020 and sent to an unknown destination overseas the next day.

The statement said the second batch of 1,200 doses of fake COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Hong Kong on November 12, 2020.

But the group was forced to destroy the unsold fake vaccines two weeks later, after a number of accomplices were detained by the Chinese police.

As of Wednesday, about 70 suspects have reportedly been arrested in 21 cases related to fake COVID-19 vaccines.

Two locally-made vaccines –Vero and CoronaVac —  had already been approved by the Asian country for public use.

A team of 13 scientists led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is currently in the Chinese city of Wuhan to trace the origin of the pandemic.

The team has also dismissed the theory that the virus leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan.