Society

Investigation launched into bad vaccine

By Shan Juan and Sun Ruisheng (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-23 09:08

Shanxi looks for answers after child deaths

TAIYUAN - Shanxi provincial health authorities flouted regulations on vaccine management from 2006 to 2008, a senior local official admitted on Monday.

Ju Xianhua, deputy secretary-general of the Shanxi provincial government, told a press conference that a special investigation into the vaccine scandal was under way, led by Vice-Governor Zhang Jianxin.

Earlier reports said vaccines had been improperly stored, leading to the deaths of several children and injuring dozens of others.

Meanwhile, a parallel investigation has been launched into the cooperation between the Shanxi provincial center for disease control (CDC) and an unqualified company, which allegedly bribed key officials to get a vaccine supply and transportation monopoly.

Li Wenyuan, former director of the provincial CDC who is now retired, was cleared of responsibility after a preliminary investigation.

"We'll keep the public constantly informed of the latest developments and results of the investigation conducted by experts from other provinces," Ju said at the press conference, which came as the public has been stoked by doubt and anger at the provincial government for not handling the case properly.

The China Economic Times first reported last Wednesday that problematic vaccines administered by the local CDC had killed four children and sickened more than 70 others who had been vaccinated against hepatitis B, rabies and Type-B encephalitis from 2006 to 2008.

Ju, however, reiterated on Monday that the vaccines, though once exposed to hot temperatures, were safe, citing results from a 2008 investigation by the Ministry of Health.

An eight-member investigation group sent by the ministry was reportedly working in the province, assisting the investigation by the local government.

Wang Wenjuan, the mother of Wang Shichao, who died in September 2008 at the age of 3 after getting rabies shots, told China Daily that no one had checked with her about the situation except the provincial bureau for letters and calls.

"I want those who caused the tragedy to be found and punished," Wang said on Monday, adding that the latest government response was far from satisfactory.

"A scapegoat is not acceptable," she emphasized. "The fact that the defective vaccines led to so many child deaths and injuries has to be recognized."

However, Cao Lingsheng, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention's immunization center, thought otherwise.

Most of the widely used Type-B encephalitis, hepatitis B and rabies vaccines in China only contain dead microorganisms, which are safe and only become less effective if improperly stored, he told China Daily.

However, he conceded that attenuated vaccines, which contain live microorganisms, might impact the recipient's health if not properly refrigerated.