Vaccine Scandal Exposes China's Regulatory Woes

Beijing Diary By Samantha Tan Chiew Ting Bernama's correspondent in Beijing Samantha Tan Chiew Ting shares her take on China. This week she delves on the vaccine scandal that has raised concerns over the Chinese regulatory woes. BEIJING, March 30 (Bernama) -- China's vaccine scandal is a stark reminder that no one can take for granted the safety of country's food and medicine. Scandals involving food and medication is nothing new in this country of 1.4 billion people and in the bigger picture it reflects the greater need for effective oversight in matters pertaining to food and medication safety. Moreover, such scandals could erode the trust on food and medication of Chinese origin. A case in point is the 2008 melamine tainted baby formula scandal that caused thousands of people to fall ill, and suffer from kidney damage that led to fatalities. Following the tainted baby formula scandal, the locals turned to foreign alternatives creating a big demand for non-China made baby formula products. Within a short period more than 100 foreign baby formula brands had flooded the Chinese market. The new generation of consumers have greater awareness on food and medicine quality, especially in the urban areas. GOVERNMENT'S CREDIBILITY QUESTIONED The vaccine scare has raised fears on the safety of the country's medical products. While on the subway, I overheard a conversation regarding the vaccine scandal. The terrified woman shared her doubt over the whole healthcare system. "Can we still believe in our healthcare services and how reliable it is? Who can ensure us that it is safe to vaccinate our children?". Last week, Xinhua News Agency reported 37 suspects were detained by police in east China's Shandong Province, in connection with the vaccine scandal. It said Shandong police announced a mother and daughter were arrested last month for allegedly selling improperly stored or expired vaccines worth over 570 million yuan (US$88 million) across 20 provincial level regions since 2011. Three pharmaceutical companies are also being investigated by police, involving 12 vaccines, two immune globulin and one therapeutic product. A work group has been established to handle the case and checks have been ordered on local vaccine makers, wholesalers and buyers. Within a week, medical experts provided assurance that the Chinese vaccines were safe and encouraged the public to continue receiving immunisations. Xinhua quoted Wang Junzhi, a member of the Expert Committee on Biological Standardisation of the World Health Organisation (WHO), as saying the vaccines in the market are stable in terms of their safety and effectiveness. MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MOVE AT PAR WITH DEVELOPED NATIONS China is indeed still a developing nation. Therefore, there is still much work to do for China in transforming itself and to be at par with other developed countries especially when comes to healthcare and food standards. The burden on China's shoulder is not getting any lighter as the country continues its reforms and at the same time delivers its best services for its own citizens. Chinese President Xi Jinping made a vow urging for the implementation of the "strictest" measures to ensure food and medicine safety for the public. He also called for more unified and authoritative supervision system and regulations. He urged for the strongest measures, the most rigorous standards, the most strict supervision, the severest punishment for violators and the most serious accountability system for food and medicine safety. -- BERNAMA