Locals are burning paper Covid-19 for Chinese New Year – as they believe it will innoculate their deceased relatives against the virus.

Footage shows the bizarre celebratory goods on sale in the Chinatown area of Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday, this afternoon, February 1.

The vials are packaged in red and gold boxes alongside a syringe and marked with the logos of Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca – but there are no jabs from controversial Chinese firms Sinovac and Sinopharm.

Shopkeeper Bee Chang said the vaccines had been the most popular of all the items and had all sold out apart from those on display.

She added: ‘We don’t have any left as people bought them very quickly. They want to burn them during their New Year parties. It’s just like burning paper money to help lost relatives.’

Each year, tens of thousands of Thai locals descended from China join the Far East festivities by burning paper money. They believe it will help their late relatives be comfortable in the afterlife and buy luxury goods.

The trend this year is to burn replica vaccines so that the souls of dead family members have good healthy by preventing them from becoming ill from the pandemic.

Thailand’s capital city – which was founded by settlers from the Far East – has a large population of those descended from mainland China. Many moved to other provinces around the country.

Each year shops sell red and gold lanterns, firecrackers, clothes, decorations and other items to mark the annual event, which will see street celebrations have also been planned for the city.

The Chinese New Year will be celebrated on February 1, the date that marks the beginning of the new moon. Festivities typically last for 15 days until the moon becomes full.