TREND SUN

Chinese police have arrested more than 80 people for allegedly making counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines, as China races to inoculate millions before the Lunar New Year holiday. According to Xinhua news agency, the gang had been putting saline water into vials and selling them as COVID-19 vaccines in an operation that had been running since last September.    The police operation was carried out at several locations across Beijing and multiple cities in the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Shandong, seizing "more than 3,000 fake COVID-19 vaccines on the spot," Xinhua said.  The suspects may have intended to send the vaccines abroad, the government-backed Global Times newspaper reported, citing a source close to a major Chinese vaccine producer. This comes as China is racing to develop homegrown jabs as they aim to vaccinate 50 million people before the start of the Lunar New Year in mid-February as hundreds of millions of people will be traveling for the festivity. ...

China records most monthly Covid-19 infections since March 2020 The National Health Commission said Sunday that 2,016 cases were reported from Jan. 1-30. That does not include another 435 infected people who arrived from abroad. The tally for Jan. 31 is due to be released Monday. Two people have died in January, the first reported COVID deaths in China in several months. Most of the new cases have been in three northern provinces. Hardest-hit Hebei province, which borders Beijing, has reported more than 900 cases. Beijing, the Chinese capital, has itself had 45 cases this month. The numbers, while low compared to many other countries, have prompted officials to tighten restrictions and strongly discourage people from traveling during the Lunar New Year, a major holiday when people typically return home for family reunions. Train trips were down nearly 75 percent in the first three days of the holiday travel season, the official Xinhua News Agency said Sunday, citing the sta...