China hit by new vaccine scandal, as up to 18 children given wrong shot
- Two health officials sacked, third detained as clinic confirms that at least one child was given HIB rather than pentavalent vaccine
- Authorities in north China to investigate parents’ claims that number of doses administered was higher than clinic had in stock
Two public health officials in northern China have been sacked and a third detained in the latest vaccine scandal to hit the country, this time involving as many as 18 children possibly being given the wrong injections, state media reported.
Gu Wenjun, head of a state-run centre for disease control and prevention in the Qiaoxi district of Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, and Huang Huiran, director of the centre’s immunisation programme, were fired after a woman reported to the police that her child had been given an HIB vaccine instead of a pentavalent one, Xinhua reported.
As well as being removed from their posts, the two men are under investigation for possible wrongdoing, while the head of the community clinic, Wei Jingli, has been detained, the report said.
The district government confirmed in a statement that a worker at the clinic had mistakenly given one child the wrong vaccine but said it did not know how many others might have been affected.
A separate report by Beijing Times quoted parents as saying that although the clinic’s records stated that 44 children were given pentavalent vaccines, other documents showed it had only 26 doses available.
On that basis, as many as 18 children might have been given the wrong injections, the report said.