The Chinese authorities announced that they had made marked progress in their probe into a vaccine scandal involving one of the country’s biggest vaccine manufacturers. 

According to Xinhua News Agency, Changchun Changsheng, a major vaccine maker based in northeastern China’s Jilin Province, was found to have “used expired materials to produce its rabies vaccines” and “falsified production and testing records to avoid regulatory scrutiny.”

Changchun Changsheng first came to public attention when China’s National Drug Administration (CNDA) disclosed that the company faked its production records for rabies vaccines on July 15. Several days later the public erupted in outrage when news revealed that the company was also fined for producing 252,600 doses of substandard DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) vaccines, which were distributed to eight cities across eastern China’s Shandong Province.

All the Vero-cell rabies vaccines produced by Changchun Changsheng were recalled from the market, but according to Shandong provincial officials, 247,359 of the 252,600 faulty DTP vaccines had already been consumed.

A spokesperson from CNDA said the batch of DTP vaccines in question are not up to efficacy standards, but will not harm children. As a remedial measure, the Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention has started contacting affected families one by one for an extra shot using a qualified vaccine. In addition, the center also opened two hotlines and trained staff at local community health service centers to better address parents’ concerns.

DTP vaccine is among 11 compulsory vaccines that the Chinese government offers for free. While some parents said this scandal has prompted them to switch to paid vaccines or imported vaccines, some others said they still have confidence in domestically-produced vaccines.

The CNDA said it will conduct a thorough inspection across all 45 vaccine manufacturers in China to ensure safety for human use.