Boxes of Infanrix and Pentaxim vaccines for infants at a children’s clinic in Hong Kong
Chinese state media say a total of 15 people have been detained in a growing scandal over the faking of records by a rabies vaccine maker.
Those detained include the CEO of Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Ltd., which has been accused of fabricating production and inspection records following a surprise visit to company offices by inspectors last week.
The other 14 were also executives at the company, state broadcaster CCTV said yesterday.
Both President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have demanded urgent attention to the matter, underscoring the government’s concern over public outrage about a series of public health scandals, especially ones concerning children.
The World Health Organization applauded the government’s action, saying it shows “when regulatory oversight works well, potential risks can be averted.”
“While the current incident is clearly regrettable, the detection of this event by an unannounced inspection shows that the regulatory authority’s system of checks and balances to protect population health is working,” WHO’s Beijing office said in a statement.
While there have been no reports of injuries, authorities have impounded the vaccines and suspended production at the company’s plant in northeastern China.
The disclosure of the scandal has ricocheted around social media, reviving memories of past scandals involving faulty medications and bogus infant formula that contained little more than starch.
A similar scandal erupted two years ago after police broke up a criminal ring that sold millions of faulty baby vaccines — but did not disclose the case for months.
Earlier this week, Reuters reported that the Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences case has prompted fears that mainland consumers will opt to have their children vaccinated in either Macau or Hong Kong, as has happened during previous scandals. Observers are warning that it could lead to another shortage in the two special administrative regions of China. MDT/AP
Health bureau: Vaccines ‘Enough for demand’
THE VACCINE supply in Macau “is enough for demand,” the Health Bureau stated yesterday. “With the purpose of ensuring that the vaccination needs of the Macau residents are met, the Health Bureau has been implementing for many years measures establishing that the vaccines ordered are, in a general way, destined for the Macau residents.” Still according to the statement, “there are rare cases of acquisition of vaccines by non-residents, mostly involving children (non-resident) that are allowed to stay in Macau and vaccines for urgent cases, such as tetanus after injuries. There are non-residents that demand vaccines and [are willing to] pay for them, but those orders are not met, which means that they can’t be vaccinated in the Health Bureau [facilities], nor in the vaccination posts that have agreements with the Health Bureau.”
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