China sacks 6 senior officials over vaccine scandal

China said on Saturday it has sacked six senior officials at the State Administration for Market Regulation who had connections to a safety scandal at vaccine maker Changsheng Biotechnology Co Ltd.

In a posting on its website, the administration said that among officials dismissed were Ding Jianhua, who headed two departments at the China Food and Drug Administration. 

Other four officials also worked at the CFDA: Dong Runsheng, Sun Jinglin, Ye Guoqing and Guo Xiuxia.

The sixth sacked official Wang Youchun was deputy dean of the National Institute for Food and Drug Control, a subordinate institution under the CFDA.

The dean of the institute Li Bo was ordered to have a thorough reflection on the scandal.

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Hubei punishes 11 officials for defective DPT vaccine

Eleven officials in central China's Hubei Province have been punished for the case of substandard DPT vaccines produced by Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co. Ltd.

Earlier this month, a national inspection team formed by members of departments including the National Health Commission looked into the case and found misconduct in vaccine production, as well as in fulfillment of local supervisory responsibilities.

Provincial authorities said the 11 officials work for departments including the provincial food and drug administration, Wuhan municipal government and Wuhan municipal food and drug administration. Six of them were removed from their posts, while the other five were given inner-Party warnings and demerits to their records.

Wuhan Institute of Biological Products and the company staff responsible for the incident will also be punished.

The batch of DPT vaccines, produced on July 19, 2016, was proved substandard due to a short-term equipment failure, which resulted in improper distribution of the active constituent in the vaccines.

DPT refers to a combination of vaccines for three infectious diseases: diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus.