China’s Vaccine Giant Collapses: 800 Million Left in the Dark, Face Mystery Side Effects

Recently, there have been widespread online claims that China’s vaccine giant—Beijing Sinovac Biotechnology Co., Ltd.—is on the brink of collapse. In early 2024, the company announced it would completely stop producing its COVID-19 vaccine. Soon after, rumors spread that it was delaying year-end bonuses for its employees. Then, in April last year, one of its key researchers, Cao Xiaobin, died suddenly, and the chairman, Yin Weidong, got tangled up in a bribery scandal. Yet the most eye-catching claims came from countless netizens accusing the Sinovac vaccine of causing various side effects and demanding compensation. This has thrown the company into the center of a fierce public storm.