China has tightened control over the quality of vaccines and vaccination compliance rules

Almaty. April 28. Silkroadnews – China’s State Council issued a decree providing for the tightening of state control over the quality of vaccines and vaccination compliance with the rules, the Chinese mass-media reported.

The new resolution cancels the whole trade of vaccines over the country and bring the purchase of the drugs into a single platform of the public resources trade. The local agencies on disease control and prevention will purchase the second category vaccines on this platform and ensure the supplies from the producers to be made directly to the hospitals.

In addition, the document contains new requirements for the vaccination drugs storage and transportation. From now on the vaccines transportation shall be carried out strictly within the “cold chain” system to ensure the continuous temperature measuring.

In China vaccines are divided into two categories: compulsory and optional. Compulsory vaccination is carried out free of charge as a part of the national immunization programs, the optional one is carried out at the request of individual and shall be paid.

As mass-media reported, the pharmacists from Shandong Province managed to establish channels of illegal distribution of vaccines in more than 20 regions of the country. The illegal trade operated since 2011. Police estimated the total volume of the vaccines sold as 310 million yuan, the illegal revenues – as 50 million yuan.
Pharmacists have been incriminated an improper storage of the second category vaccines without complying with the required temperature.

According to the preliminary results of the investigation, 357 civil servants involved in the scandal have been removed from their posts or downgraded. As of April 11 there are 192 criminal cases have been opened and 202 people got arrested, the investigation revealed 45 companies involved in the sale of vaccines and around 59 companies that could receive the troubled vaccines.