China fake vaccine suspects held

BEIJING/SEOUL: China has arrested dozens of suspects including the “kingpin” of a gang who packaged and sold thousands of doses of fake Covid-19 vaccines in the country and abroad, state media reported.

The leader of the gang, identified as Kong, packaged some 58,000 doses of saline and mineral water solutions as anticovid vaccine and sold them in batches including to unidentified countries. They made profit worth some 18 million yuan ($2.78mn). Kong closely studied the design of vaccine packages available in the market and online before launching the multi-million-dollar fraud, official news agency Xinhua reported.

‘Hacking bid on Pfizer’

North Korean hackers tried to break into the computer systems of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in a search for information on a coronavirus vaccine and treatment technology, South Korea’s spy agency said on Tuesday.

Seoul’s National Intelligence Service “briefed us that North Korea tried to obtain technology involving the Covid vaccine and treatment by using cyberwarfare to hack into Pfizer”, South Korean lawmaker Ha Tae-keung told reporters.

Court row on Dutch curbs

A Dutch court ordered the government on Tuesday to end the curfew it imposed last month, saying the ruling coalition was not entitled to use emergency powers to enforce the measure.

The government of the Netherlands immediately appealed and asked the court to suspend the order prohibiting the curfew. A hearing into the request to suspend the order was halted after just a few minutes when a member of the group that sought to overturn the curfew accused the presiding judge of bias.

Cases falling rapidly in US

Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations are dropping dramatically across the US, suggesting that measures to interrupt transmission are working.

More than 27.6 million Americans have tested positive, likely giving them some degree of immunity. A rising number 11.8% of the population - has now received at least one dose of a vaccine. And data gathered from mobile phones suggest people are being more cautious day-today. If cases keep falling, it could buy time for the vaccination effort to take hold in the warm summer months ahead, potentially underpinning a longsought economic recovery.

J&J seeks EU nod for jab

Johnson & Johnson has applied for authorisation for their coronavirus vaccine in the EU with a decision possible by the middle of March, the European Medicines Agency said on Tuesday.