Chinese police have arrested more than 80 suspected members of a criminal ring making and selling fake vaccines.
Over 3,000 saline-filled syringes were also seized.
State media reported that the gang had been active since last September and was making huge profits on the overpriced counterfeits.
The fake vaccines had been sold in China and other parts of the world – exactly where is not yet clear.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin announced that China had reported the situation to the relevant countries.
Police have also identified some of the locations where the counterfeit drugs were produced and sold.
It’s not China’s first vaccine scandal, in fact it’s had a few. These led to a drop in public trust in vaccines, but after government reform of safety regulations and increased criminal penalties for people making counterfeits, confidence is back up.
Some 24 million people have been vaccinated against coronavirus in China with domestically produced vaccines so far.
