According to Xinhua, the group has been active since September last year and fake doses of vaccines have been sold in China and abroad.
Police in Beijing, Jiangsu and Shandong have dismantled a group and arrested more than 80 suspects for producing and selling fake COVID-19 vaccines using salt water. The group was led by a suspect surnamed Kong. More than 3,000 fake vaccines have been seized.
China has reported the situation to relevant countries, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Uong Van Ban. The Chinese government highly appreciates the safety of the vaccine and will continue to strive to strictly prosecute all acts of forgery, counterfeit goods trading and illegal business, as well as other related actions related to the vaccine. At the same time, China will strengthen law enforcement cooperation with relevant countries to seriously prevent the spread of these illegal acts and crimes".
China has reformed vaccine safety regulations and increased penalties for those caught red-handed in counterfeiting following recent scandals.
In 2016, police arrested two leaders of a group of people trafficking millions of improperly preserved doses of vaccine across the country.
According to Sky News, such incidents have previously led to a decline in confidence in vaccines in China. However, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, confidence in vaccines in China has gradually increased again. China has at least seven COVID-19 vaccines in the final clinical trial phase. The vaccine produced by the state-owned company Sinopharm has been licensed for domestic use.
More than 24 million domestic doses of vaccine have been vaccinated in China as part of a mass vaccination campaign.
In contrast to countries like the UK - which focus on vaccinating the elderly first - China targets targeted groups such as health workers and workers in food-related industries, as well as adults aged 18 to 59.
Sinopharm and other Chinese companies have sold or donated vaccines in at least 27 countries around the world.
