China cracks fake COVID-19 vaccine ring, confiscates 3,000 doses

Chinese police arrested more than 80 people and confiscated over 3,000 fake doses of COVID-19 vaccine as part of a campaign to combat vaccine-related crimes.

The suspects had been carrying out the ruse since at least September last year, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday, adding that all fake doses had been tracked down.

The fake vaccines were made by injecting saline into syringes, it said. The suspects may have intended to send the vaccines abroad, the Global Times newspaper reported, citing a source close to a vaccine producer.

The police operation was carried out in multiple places including Beijing and the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Shandong, Xinhua said.

Countries around the world from have been rolling out vaccine programs in the hope of bringing the yearlong coronavirus pandemic to an end.