China’s healthcare system crumbles amid Covid spike; people buying medicines from black market

China's healthcare system is facing several hardships and is on the verge of near collapse amid a Covid spike in the Chinese mainland after a shift from President Xi Jinping's 'Zero Covid policy' which not only harmed the economy but also failed to control the outbreak.In a country where not even a mask mandate exists right now, thousands of people have died and many medical workers are walking out of their jobs.

Almost everything is open now, even schools, but kids are not going due to the fear of getting infected at a time when even medicines are not easily available.

As per several media reports, China's manufacturing and service sectors were at their worst by the end of 2022.

The healthcare system is experiencing a huge shortage of COVID-19 medications. The current coronavirus wave saw drug stores stripped of supplies, promoting people to buy from online marketplaces with price gouging and online fraud.

China's public security ministry on Monday ordered a crackdown on illegal and criminal activity involving the production and sale of counterfeit epidemic-related medicines and related items.

Despite this, people were forced to turn towards the black market for their loved ones.

Theblack market and online frauds include tainted medicines, fabricated clinical trials and lax regulation in the industry.

A 22-year-old Qiu told AFP that she spentthousands on online Covid medicines that never arrived.

Authorities claimed that they have begun shippingpaxvloid, a Beijing-approved Covid treatment medicine developed by US drug giant Pfizer, to many hospitals and communities but is difficult to obtain.

According to AFP, limited stocks have compelled citizens to buy medicines at a higher price. It said that an online seller told the news agency that they were charging 18,000 yuan ($2,610) for a single box of the medicine, almost nine times more than the original price.

(With inputs from agencies)

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