Blood from Recovered COVID-19 Patients Is Being Sold on the Dark Web

Don't buy blood on the internet.

coronavirus black market blood
This blood, like most blood, should not be for sale.
Stanislav KrasilnikovTASS via Getty Images

These are weird times, and by most accounts, they only seem to be getting weirder.

Take, for example, reports that people are now selling blood allegedly from coronavirus survivors on the dark web. Criminals are reportedly peddling the blood as a form of “passive vaccination,” according to Australian public outlet ABC News.

“The word I think is passive vaccination, where the blood plasma of a recovered COVID-19 patient is harvested for the antibodies and that is then used to inject into someone who may be at risk of COVID-19,” Rod Broadhurst, a lead researcher with the Australia National University, told the outlet last week.

Blood of rumored COVID-19 patients, while perhaps the most disturbing remedy available on the coronavirus black market these days, is not the only antidote being sold underground. Researchers reportedly found hundreds of unregulated products for sale, including likely stolen personal protective equipment and a variety of purported remedies, including anti-malaria drugs and animal-trial vaccines. Some alleged “cures” were listed for tens of thousands of dollars.

“The idea of any kind of black market is that there will be some people who may be prepared to be jumping ahead of the queue, if you like, and taking a punt on a vaccine that’s undergoing trial,” said Broadhurst.

This should maybe go without saying, but since weird times call for weird reminders, don’t buy blood on the internet. In fact, I’d hazard to suggest you should probably try to avoid ever buying blood at all if you can help it.

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