Vaksin Tipu Hasilan Negara
China
How a Fake Vaccine Scandal in
China Is Causing a Crisis of Confidence
A manufacturer sold hundreds of thousands of ineffective
vaccines for infants.
A
Chinese drug company is under investigation after it was discovered to have sold
more than a quarter-million doses of sub-standard vaccines for infants.
Changchun
Changsheng Life Sciences Limited sold the diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus
(DPT) vaccines to the Shandong Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, which
serves the Shandong province’s population of nearly 100 million, and many were
administered to children as part of China’s nationwide mandatory vaccination
program, CNN reported.
The
pharmaceutical company also allegedly changed its rabies vaccine production
method and created fake production and inspection records.
The
government has since revoked Changsheng’s license to produce rabies vaccines
for humans, and five of the company’s top executives, including its chairwoman,
are now under criminal investigation, NPR reported.
Changsheng
— which means “long life” — has also been fined approximately $500,000
(3,442,887 yuan).
Issues
with Changsheng’s rabies vaccines were first discovered earlier this month
after authorities were tipped off and conducted a spot check of the
product, Xinhua, a state-run news agency, reported.
President
Xi Jinping called the sale of faulty diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT)
infant vaccines “vile and shocking,” CNN reported. And public outrage has been mounting on
Chinese social media outlets, the South China Morning Post reported.
But
even more concerning is the increasing doubt over the integrity of China’s
health care system and medical industry.
"My
home country, how can I trust you? You just let me down again and again,"
one user said of the incident, according to CNN.
The
Changsheng vaccine scandal is just one of several scandals in which Chinese drug
manufacturers have been accused of producing fake or defective vaccines
and medicines in recent years. Just last year,
another Chinese pharmaceutical company was discovered to have produced and sold
more than 400,000 ineffective DPT vaccines to provincial public health
agencies, according to the South China Morning Post. The
drug manufacturer at fault has yet to face consequences for the fake vaccines.
The
Changsheng investigation not only comes at a time when the country had set its sights on becoming a global
leader in pharmaceutical production, but has contributed to mistrust of China’s
medical system and vaccines among parents.
And
while some parents told the South China Morning Post that they
will only allow their children to be administered vaccines produced overseas or
will take their children to nearby Hong Kong for vaccinations, those who cannot
afford to do so may simply stop vaccinating their children.
Effective vaccinations
are vital to protecting children against many life-threatening
diseases, according to the World Health Organization. And vaccines not only
offer protection to immunized individuals but can help prevent the spread of
illnesses. More than 1.5 million children die every year from
vaccine-preventable diseases, according to UNICEF.
People
and children living in poverty tend to be the most affected by such illnesses
due to a lack of access to vaccines and adequate health care.
Experts
worry that the recent scandals will lead Chinese families to forgo vaccines,
despite legal immunization requirements, and that the current crisis of
confidence in the quality of China’s medical care will take years to address.
“This
incident could become a public health crisis should it not be handled in a
reasonable and transparent manner,” an editorial in China Daily, a
state-run paper, said. “The government needs to act as soon as possible to let
the public know it is resolved to address the issue and will punish any
wrongdoers without mercy.”
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