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Chinese warned to stay away from COVID-19 vaccine scams on social media

Chinese warned to stay away from COVID-19 vaccine scams on social media

Sinovac's vaccine

Vaccine producers in China have warned the country's citizens not to to fall for fake advertisements online about coronavirus vaccine.

The warning came after a fakead of a vaccine allegedly produced bySinovac Biotech circulated on social media platform WeChatand only accepting advanced payment.

The promotional posts seem to have stolen photos from the vaccine developers' official websites.

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Fraudulent promotions of Sinovac's vaccine candidate Coronavac (left) and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products vaccine

“Contact me if you need the coronavirus vaccine. It can be made for export and production volume is low so people must queue. It will be officially launched on September 2,” said one advertisement.

However,Sinovac spokesman Liu Peicheng denied selling any vaccine online in the country saying itwas not ''authentic''.

The other vaccine being touted was claimed to be from the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products. It was advertised at $71a dose and potential buyers were advised they should take three doses.

“Health care workers and people going abroad can use it on a priority basis,” the advertisement said.

The news comes asChina'sSinovaclaunched aPhase 3 trial for COVID-19 vaccine in Indonesia this week.

InSinovac's mid-stage trial involving 600 participants in China, the rate of fever in patients was relatively lower than other COVID-19 candidates including one from AstraZeneca.

Sinovacis testing its vaccine abroad because China is no longer a satisfactory site for late-stage trials due to the low number of new infection cases.