Many families have been forced to rely on sketchy online sellers for their medicines.
Beijing:
Desperate families looking for vital COVID-19 medicines in China are being relegated to dark online marketplaces with bare pharmacy shelves, exploding cases, price gouging and fraud.
Beijing last month abruptly reversed its signature coronavirus containment measures, sparking nationwide protests and lifting widespread restrictions that have been choking the economy. The move unleashed a torrent of infections across the country.
In the current Covid wave, drugstores are being robbed of supplies as people rush to treat colds and fevers. Many have been forced to resort to sketchy online sellers with little guarantee of getting what they pay for.
The Chinese people have long endured scandals involving tainted medicines, fabricated clinical trials, and lax regulations in the medical industry.
Qiu, 22, who is desperately looking for a cure for an ill family member, told AFP that after reaching out online to someone claiming to be a representative for Hong Kong-based Ghitai Pharmaceutical, he did not receive Covid. said he spent thousands of dollars on drugs for
The person said he had access to stocks of Paxlovid, a Beijing-approved Covid treatment developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, and could mail some from the semi-autonomous city to mainland China.
After being directed to a sophisticated “official” website, Qiu paid 12,000 yuan ($1,740) for six boxes of Paxlovid, according to payment records reviewed by AFP.
However, the pills never came and the agent cut off contact, leaving her “hurt, helpless and very angry.”
“That’s disgusting behavior,” Qiu said. “Every second counts when you’re trying to save someone’s life.”
soaring prices
In a statement to AFP, Ghitai said it was aware of fake websites claiming to offer Covid medicines, adding that cases of fraud had been reported to police.
“Ghitai has never offered Covid-19 medicine and urges consumers to exercise caution to avoid fraud and financial loss,” the company said.
Chinese authorities say they have started shipping paxlovid to some hospitals and regional clinics, but obtaining the drug remains very difficult for many people.
Clinics in multiple cities, including Beijing and megacity Shanghai, told AFP they were not currently providing treatment and did not know when it would be available.
The e-commerce platform’s limited inventory is also selling out quickly, leaving scalpers to cash in.
A seller contacted by AFP this week said he was charging 18,000 yuan ($2,610) for a box, about nine times the official price.
They claimed the drug would be shipped from the south of the city of Shenzhen, but said buyers would “have to wait” for delivery.
The seller did not say how the pills were obtained and stopped responding after the AFP journalist identified himself.
– “Despair and Helplessness” –
China’s Ministry of Public Security on Monday ordered a crackdown on “illegal and criminal activities involving the manufacture and sale of counterfeit medicines and related goods related to the epidemic.”
Despite these risks, the black market remains a common last resort for people like Xiao, whose elderly grandfather fell ill in December.
A 25-year-old business manager was “utterly perplexed” when an online pitch asked Paxlovid for 18,000 yuan.
She couldn’t afford it, and when her grandfather died a few days later, her desperation turned to “despair and helplessness.”
“I don’t know how anyone managed to get medicine,” she said. Are you there?”
With licensed drugs virtually out of reach, some are betting on illegally imported generic alternatives.
Medicines abroad are usually available for a fraction of the cost, but importers can face legal action if they bring in unregulated medicines.
Paxlovid’s Indian version is cheaper, but still costs a lot.
In an online chat this week, an AFP reporter encountered someone who claimed to be an Indian pharmacist. This person was offering dozens of potential Chinese buyers as much as 1,500 yuan ($217) per box of anti-Covid generic drugs.
They included a variant of Paxlovid marketed under the brand name Paxista and two generics of drug giant Merck for treatment called Movfor and Molaz.
Beijing last week granted conditional emergency approval to Merck’s antiviral drug (marketed internationally as Lagebrio) for use in vulnerable adults infected with Covid.
A Shenzhen-based pharmacist intermediary is more concerned about legal issues, saying “I don’t think there is a moral issue” in setting high prices for potentially life-saving drugs. added.
Doubts about the authenticity of generic drugs plagued some users in the chat room.
“I don’t know who to trust,” said one woman.
(Except for the headline, this article is unedited by NDTV staff and published from a syndicated feed.)
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