Rui Thinking: High penalty should be implemented for anti-rabies vaccines

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Europe

02:30

A new vaccine scandal involving Changchun Changsheng, China’s second-largest producer of anti-rabies vaccines, has caused outrage on Chinese social media.

While regulators face difficulties in rebuilding public trust after years of food and drug safety controversies, it is also a wake-up call for the authority’s accountability and crisis management skills.

China’s State Drug Administration immediately moved to revoke the company’s Good Manufacturing Practice license tied to the vaccine and promised further and thorough investigation. But the incident clearly undermines the public’s already weakened confidence in domestically produced vaccines.

In many cases, public anxiety doesn’t result from a lack of knowledge and expertise, but rather, from the absence of an adequate response from the authorities.

China is still licking the wound of a public relations nightmare seven years ago when a former spokesman for the Ministry of Railways was quoted as saying “Whether you believe it or not, I do.”

Over these years, we’ve made some progress in curbing the abuse of discretion and enhancing government accountability when it comes to crisis management.

Authorities and businesses now realize that the costs of trying to hide a crisis are much higher than handling it in a timely manner. Revealing information themselves would help to curb the spread of rumors, which often exaggerate the facts and make accidents seem much worse.

In addition to more adequate crisis management, a better mechanism is needed to intensify penalties. Heads should roll to make the cost so high and the deterrence so strong. The penalty should be high enough to make people think twice.

The good news is more and more attention is given to the medical sector. Following heated discussions sparked by the Chinese black comedy Dying to Survive, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged authorities to step up measures to reduce the price of anti-cancer drugs and ensure a steady supply of such medicine.

For that, we do have faith in the regulator’s next steps of reform to further ensure China’s food and drug safety.