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China said it is investigating a crime network that makes “fake vaccines” for covid-19, in action since September, according to state media.
Police departments in Jiangsu, Beijing and Shandong detained more than 80 people involved in the production of more than 3,000 false doses of the vaccine for covid-19, reported the news agency Xinhua, cited by CNN.
According to the agency, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security is investigating crimes related to the manufacture and sale of fake vaccines, “to the illegal practice of medicine and fraud”.
The authorities found that, since September 2020, those involved “have been making huge profits” by using saline solution “to manufacture fake coronavirus vaccines and sell them at a higher price,” said Xinhua.
China has immunized the population with vaccines from two companies, Sinovac and Sinopharm, both used in other countries, including Turkey. Initially, companies advanced that they had a more than 78% effectiveness, but the Sinovac candidate’s final-stage tests in Brazil reported an efficacy rate of 50.38%.
Sinovac kept its vaccine, even with some countries putting it under review. Sinopharm, a state-owned company whose vaccine was the first to be approved in China, said its product was 79.34% effective in tests.
Taísa Pagno //
