HK, Macau may face vaccine shortage after scandal

Chinese vaccine maker Changsheng Bio-Technology is now subject to a police investigation after the country’s drug regulator accused it of fabricating production and inspection records for a rabies vaccine given to infants.

The investigation 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.

The Health Bureau stated yesterday that it is not supplied by the company that is under investigation.

Changsheng is subject to investigations by multiple mainland authorities, including the drug regulator and China’s top anti-corruption body, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), which opened an investigation into suspected corruption yesterday.

The CCDI said it would “severely punish” any local regulatory officials found guilty of dereliction of duty in supervising Changsheng. Some clues and reports of corruption related to Changsheng and its executives have already been received, the corruption watchdog said in a statement.

Although there are no reports of anyone being harmed by the product, Changsheng has been ordered to halt production and recall the vaccine in its entirety. This may account for some 252,000 substandard DPT vaccines, intended to protect children against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus.

The firm’s stock plunged by its daily limit of 10 percent early yesterday following news of the production halt and police investigation. The fall is the seventh straight session of maximum decline, taking the stock to its lowest level in three years. Reuters reported that the loss is equivalent to USD1.8 billion being wiped from Changsheng’s Shenzhen-listed shares over the last two weeks.

The incident has sparked public outcry on the mainland, with Chinese netizens swarming in the millions to express their anger, and China’s Global Times describing the reaction as an internet “tsunami”.

The anger was fueled by whistleblower reports that suggested regulators found production problems at Changsheng as early as November, but did not publicize their findings or announce a recall until July.

Chinese internet censors were quick to monitor such reports, but have provided significant leeway for online news outlets to pursue the story. The hashtag “Changsheng makes fake vaccines” has garnered over 100 million views on microblogging platform Weibo.

Meanwhile, the top leadership in the country is still scrambling to shore up public confidence, reported the Associated Press.

Premier Li Keqiang said in a statement that Changsheng “violated a moral bottom line.” He pledged an immediate investigation of the company and to “resolutely crack down” on violations that endanger public safety.

President Xi Jinping echoed those remarks, while police in Changchun, a city in northeastern China, announced that the company’s chief executive and four other executives had been placed under investigation. MDT/Agencies