130 held in China's vaccine scandal: Ministry

China has filed 69 criminal cases against more than 130 people held in the infamous vaccine scandal which exposed poor security and management facilities for vital drugs in the country.
Sixty nine criminal cases have been filed nationwide in which over 130 people have been held,Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said.
A large quantity of improperly stored or expired vaccines had allegedly been sold in more than 20 provincial-level regions since 2011, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
In one case amotheranddaughter were arrested for illegal vaccine sales worth more than USD 88 million in 18 provinces.
Since 2011, the suspects have purchased 25 types of vaccines from more than 100 pharmaceutical salesmen, both licensed and unlicensed, and sold them to illegal agents or even local disease control and prevention centres at high prices, Jinan Public Security Bureau in Shandong Province said.

Though produced by qualified manufacturers, the quality of the vaccines was questionable as they were not transported in approved conditions.

Such vaccines have potential side-effects and can even cause disability or death, officials said.
Hua Jingfeng, a senior official with the MPS, said at a multi-agency press conference yesterday that the vaccines had been sold for 310 million yuan (USD 47.6 million)rather than 570 million yuan as previously reported, and 20,000 doses have been seized by the authorities.
Investigators are still tracing the flow of the vaccines, Hua added.
Twenty-nine pharmaceutical companies are suspected of involvement in selling the illegal vaccines, and 16 vaccination institutions are suspected of buying them, officials of the MPS, China Food and Drug Administration and National Health and Family Planning Commission said.

This is a major scandal to rock China after the food contamination scandals includingMelamine-laced baby food, contaminated meat and use of gutter oil in the last few years.
In the vaccines scandal, three companies in eastern Shandong Province have had their credentials revoked and operation suspended, Li Guoqing with the CFDA said.
Oversights in supervising vaccine distribution remain to be addressed, the officials said, stressing efforts are being made by relevant agencies to improve vaccine distribution, management and procurement mechanisms.
Failing to properly store and transport vaccines cannot be tolerated and constitutes a severe violation of the law, Li said, adding this could possibly affect the effectiveness of the vaccines but not their safety.

Over the past five years, no anomaly has been detected in monitoring data on abnormal responses to vaccination, he said.