Baby deaths not caused by Shenzhen firm's hepatitis B vaccine, say officials
Vaccines almost certainly were not to blame for 17 deaths of infants reported around the country, health authorities say after probe
Mainland health authorities do not believe hepatitis B vaccinations played a role in the deaths of 17 infants.
But Yu Jingjin, a department chief at the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said they would wait for the final autopsy reports before reaching a conclusive decision.
Concerns over the safety of hepatitis B vaccinations arose after four children died within 24 hours of receiving a shot made by Shenzhen-based Biokangtai Biological Products, all between December 13-19.
But Yu said that only in a fifth, non-fatal case, was the vaccination possibly a concern. An infant may have had an allergic reaction after receiving a shot, but recovered in hospital, according to a transcript of a press conference posted on the commission's website. Many of the other suspected cases reported by parents following the news of the initial deaths were not related to the vaccination, it said.
Experts had ruled out a link in nine of 13 of those cases brought forward. The remaining cases did not appear tied to the vaccination, but again, authorities would wait for the final autopsy reports, Yu said. The fatalities occurred in 18 different counties in nine provinces and the vaccines came from different batches, except in the instance of two infants in Hunan , who received doses from the same batch.
There was no consistent cause of death across all cases - severe pneumonia, kidney failure, infantile diarrhoea and congenital heart disease were all listed, and these are common killers of children under five on the mainland.