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Subject: BEIJING May 21 AP - China has arrested 135 people in 22 provinces for illegally buying and selling vaccines, in the latest scandal shaking the…
Excerpt: English text from the archived bilingual edition · Chinese edition
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BEIJING May 21 AP - China has arrested 135 people in 22 provinces for illegally buying and selling vaccines, in the latest scandal shaking the Chinese public’s confidence in vaccine safety
In an online statement on Friday, the national prosecuting office said arrest warrants were issued for 125 people for running vaccine businesses without license
It said 15 of them have been formally indicted, and two were found guilty. Ten health officials were arrested for on-duty negligence
The accused health officials had worked at local public health centres and knowingly bought the illegal vaccines and used them on people, the prosecuting office said
The massive investigation followed a case in March when a doctor in the eastern province of Shandong were found to have sold 2 million doses of improperly stored or expired vaccines. Media reports said she stored the vaccines at room temperature, instead of keeping them refrigerated as required
Vaccines not stored and managed properly can lose their effectiveness and may not protect people being inoculated. The vaccines in the March case included those for hepatitis B, rabies, mumps and Japanese encephalitis
The scandal drew criticism from people upset with persistent food and drug safety issues in the country. Beijing quickly ordered an investigation to crack down on illegal businesses of vaccines
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