Chinese social media sites have recently been very engaged in a vaccine scandal. The police in Eastern China have recently arrested thirty-seven people who were involved in prescribing and giving expired vaccinations. A mother and her daughter first started this illegal vaccine ring in 2011 when they trafficked around $90 million worth of expired vaccines made by actual licensed pharmaceutical companies into China. Neither woman made sure to place the vaccines in proper temperature setting, possibly resulting in loss of effectiveness in the vaccines.
The Chinese government is receiving criticism from citizens because the government did nothing to help this issue until it got out of hand. Many people are upset that the government was not proactive in making sure vaccination methods and materials used were safe nor did it take the time to let the public know what had happened. China’s World Health Organization softened the real harmful side effects of the expired vaccines, but did say vaccine efficacy may be compromised. The people in China still believe the government is failing to effectively protect their health.
Now the Chinese government has vowed to crack down on trafficked vaccines and to make sure given vaccines are legitimate. There are currently three major pharmaceutical companies based in China that are undergoing extensive investigation by the police to make sure all of their vaccines are safe to use. The focus on profit by distributors has led to thousands of people to be vaccinated by dangerous outdated vaccines.
