China Vaccine Scandal: President Xi Jinping calls for severe punishments

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02:16

Chinese President Xi Jinping is stressing the importance of drug safety - after reports a pharmaceutical company violated standards, producing tainted vaccines. Authorities have launched an investigation into the manufacturer, Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology and Xi is calling for those responsible to be identified and punished. Wang Qiwei reports.

It has hit a nerve in the country again.

This time, China's second largest maker of the rabies vaccine has crossed a moral line by producing faulty vaccines.

On Sunday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the public deserved a clear explanation.

China's Food and Drug Administration announced it had ordered a halt in production at the vaccine maker, and launched an investigation.

XU JINGHE, DEPUTY DIRECTOR CHINA FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION "We found out the company fabricated production, inspection records and modified parameters and equipment. These actions seriously violated the relevant laws and regulations. The State Drug Administration has ordered to stop its production, recalled its Good Manufacturing Practice certificate and also recalled untapped rabies vaccines."

Last Friday, in a separate case, the Jilin Provincial Drug Administration announced a penalty on Changsheng's substandard vaccine against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus.

It revealed that in November, more than 250-thousand doses of the vaccine that couldn't meet the standard of immunity were sold to Shandong Province.

There were no reports of injuries related to the vaccine, but the disclosure of both cases sparked public anger on social media over the weekend.

And many Chinese parents are worried.

"We parents are certainly in panic. Even if we hadn't taken defective vaccines, who knows this won't happen to us in the future? Or who can guarantee there were no problems with the vaccines we had taken in the past."

Meanwhile, the vaccine scandal triggered a slump in China's healthcare shares, as many investors turned cautious towards the pharmaceutical sector.

Also plunging is people's faith, which may take a long time to restore.

Wang Qiwei, CGTN.