40 officials held accountable in China for faulty vaccine scandal

Over 40 Chinese government officials have been held accountable for their neglect of duty and misconduct for manufacturing substandard vaccines, including rabies vaccines, exported to India and other countries, in the country's latest drug-safety scandal.

Rabies vaccines made by the Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Company, the second largest in China, were found to have violated national standards including usage of expired fluids and falsified production dates. The vaccines were also widely exported, including to India.

Forty government officials, including seven at the provincial level, have been held accountable for their neglect of duty or misconduct in oversight over the substandard vaccines at the company at a meeting presided over by Chinese President Xi Jinping, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

The Drug Controller General of India, early this month ordered an immediate withdrawal of rabies vaccines from the market and have also banned its imports from a Chinese manufacturer that allegedly fabricated records.

Also investigation by the Chinese officials into recent vaccine scandal revealed that the batch of DPT vaccines, produced in July 2016 by the Chinese firm were proved substandard due to a short-term equipment failure.

The DPT vaccines were made by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co. Ltd.