The world is currently struggling to tackle the coronavirus or COVID-19 outbreak as scientists are working at a rapid pace to find a cure for the deadly disease as soon as possible. Now, Chinese vaccine producers have warned the citizens of the country not to fall for fake advertisements that are coming online regarding coronavirus vaccine, according to reports.
The warning came as a fake ad of a vaccine allegedly produced by Sinovac Biotech went viral on social media platform WeChat and mentioned that it is only accepting advanced payment. The post seems to have been made with stolen photos from the official website of the vaccine developer.
Fake Vaccine Ads on Social Media
"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," one of the advertisements read. Sinovac spokesman Liu Peicheng has stated to the South China Morning Post that the ad was not authentic.
Another vaccine that is being touted was claimed to be from the Wuhan Insititute of Biological Products. In the advertisement, it was mentioned that it costs $71 a dose and the probable buyers were advised to have three doses. "Health care workers and people going abroad can use it on a priority basis," the advertisement read.
The authenticity of the ad also raises questions as the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products had told Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily in the recent past that the vaccine it is making is still in the clinical trial stage.
Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine
The news comes a few days after Russia registered a coronavirus vaccine, which it claimed to be the first vaccine for tackling the deadly virus outbreak. Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned that the vaccine is safe and also one of his daughters who was part of the experiment was feeling well.
However, experts around the world have raised questions about the efficiency of the vaccine and one of the top doctors of Russia even quit the ethics council of Russia's health ministry due to 'violations' of medical ethics.
