Health Impact News
At least nine babies have died in China the past few weeks after being injected with the Hepatitis B vaccine.
In China, the Hepatitis B vaccine is given
in three stages. The first shot is taken immediately after birth. The
second and third shots of the vaccine are taken after a baby is one
month and then six months old.
The pharmaceutical company manufacturing
the vaccine has conducted quality control tests on the batch currently
in the market, and has not found anything wrong with the vaccine.
Similar statements have been made by health authorities:
The drug supervision department in Shenzhen says their test results indicate the vaccines were safe.
“According to our investigation,
BioKangtai has produced the vaccine strictly under required standards.
And their samples have passed our tests.” Wang Lifeng with Drug
Administration of Shenzhen said.
The deaths, which have occurred within a
very short time after receiving the vaccine, are gaining wide exposure
in the China media. Because vaccines are almost always promoted as safe,
injuries and deaths often are not associated with the vaccine, so there
may be more deaths than have currently been reported. One of the deaths
was reported by a family member after hearing about other babies dying
shortly after receiving the vaccine in the media. When the family
originally was fighting to save the baby from dying, they had not
suspected the vaccine.
.....
NY Times
China Investigates Vaccine Maker After Deaths of Infants
By DAVID BARBOZA
Published: December 25, 2013
SHANGHAI — Health authorities in China are investigating one of the
nation’s biggest vaccine makers after eight infants died in the past two
months following injections that were meant to immunize them against
hepatitis B.
The government said this week that it had suspended the use of millions
of doses of a hepatitis B vaccine produced by the manufacturer, Shenzhen
Kangtai Biological Products. Government inspectors have been sent to
examine the company’s facilities.
Six of the deaths have been linked to vaccines produced by Shenzhen
Kangtai; the two other infant deaths occurred recently after the use of a
hepatitis B vaccine produced by another drug maker, Beijing Tiantan
Biological Products. The government did not say whether any action had
been taken against Beijing Tiantan or its vaccines. Investigators have
not determined the cause of the deaths or linked them directly to the
injections, but the cases come at a time of growing public concern in
China about food and drug safety problems.
In recent years, China has been troubled by a series of scandals, including tainted rice and milk and the mysterious appearance of thousands of dead pigs
floating in the Huangpu River in Shanghai. China has vowed repeatedly
to crack down on food and drug safety violations and has moved to
strengthen the powers of health officials.
In the vaccine cases, the government is focusing on the role of Shenzhen
Kangtai, a privately run drug maker formed in 1992 with government
support and the cooperation of the American pharmaceutical company
Merck.
.....
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