Drug stores in China have been emptied of supplies as a result of the current Covid epidemic because people are buying cold and fever medicines. With little assurance that they will receive what they have paid for, many people have been forced to turn to questionable online sellers.
Faced with empty pharmacy shelves and an explosion of cases, desperate families searching for critical COVID-19 medication in China are being pushed into murky online marketplaces rife with price gouging and fraud.

Beijing abruptly ended its well-known zero-Covid virus containment policy last month, lifting numerous restrictions that had stifled the economy and sparked nationwide protests. A flood of infections spread across the nation as a result of the move.

Drug stores have been emptied of supplies as a result of the current cold and flu season. With little assurance that they will receive what they have paid for, many people have been forced to turn to questionable online sellers.

Many Chinese people are skeptical of domestically produced pharmaceuticals because they have long endured scandals involving tainted medicine, fabricated clinical trials, and lax medical industry regulation.

Qiu, 22, told AFP that she spent thousands of dollars on Covid medicines that never arrived after contacting someone online who claimed to represent Hong Kong-based Ghitai Pharmaceutical. She was desperate for treatment for sick family members.

The individual claimed to have access to stocks of Paxlovid, a Covid treatment developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and approved for use in Beijing, and that they could mail some from the semi-autonomous city into mainland China.

According to payment records seen by AFP, Qiu paid $1,740 for six Paxlovid boxes after being directed to a sleek “official” website.

However, the pills did not arrive, and the representative cut off communication, rendering her “hurt, helpless, and extremely enraged.”

Qiu stated, “It’s disgusting behavior.” When you’re trying to save someone’s life, every second matters.”

Drug prices are going up. In a statement to AFP, Ghitai said that it was aware of a fake version of its website that said it sold Covid medication and that the police had been notified of instances of fraud.

The company stated, “Ghitai has never offered COVID-19 medicines, and urges consumers to exercise caution to avoid fraud and financial losses.”

Although China’s authorities claim to have begun shipping Paxlovid to some hospitals and community clinics, the medication is still extremely difficult to obtain for many people.

Several clinics in a number of cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, a major city, informed AFP that they were unsure of when they would be able to offer the treatment.

Scalpers have been able to make a quick profit as limited stocks on e-commerce platforms have also sold out quickly.

This week, AFP contacted one seller who claimed to be charging $2,610 ($18,000) for a single box, which is approximately nine times the official price.

They said that the medicine would be shipped from Shenzhen, a southern city, but buyers would “have to wait” for it, they said.

After an AFP journalist identified themselves, the seller stopped responding and did not elaborate on where they had obtained the pills.

A crackdown on “illegal and criminal activity involving the production and sale of counterfeit epidemic-related medicines and related items” was ordered by China’s public security ministry on Monday out of “despair and helplessness.”

Despite these dangers, people like Xiao, whose elderly grandfather fell ill in December, frequently resort to the black market as a last resort.

When an online con artist demanded 18,000 yuan for Paxlovid, the 25-year-old business administrator was “utterly bewildered.”

When her grandfather passed away a few days later, she became “despair and helpless” because she couldn’t afford it.

She stated, “I just don’t understand how some people were able to get the medicine.” We can’t even afford to buy one box. Why are there so many?

Some people are taking a chance on generic alternatives that have been illegally imported because prescribed medications are virtually out of reach.

Although importers may be subject to legal action for importing unregulated medications, overseas drugs typically have lower prices than domestic ones.

Paxlovid’s Indian variants are less expensive, but they still cost a lot.

An AFP reporter met a person this week who claimed to be an Indian pharmacist and was selling anti-Covid generics to dozens of potential Chinese buyers for as much as 1,500 yuan ($217 per box).

They included two generics for Merck’s treatment, Movfor and Molaz, as well as a variant of Paxlovid that was sold under the brand name Paxista.

Last week, Beijing granted Merck’s antiviral, sold internationally as Lagevrio, conditional emergency approval for use on vulnerable adults with Covid.

The pharmacist’s intermediary in Shenzhen stated that setting high prices presented “no moral quandary.”