Fake Vaccine Info May Cost $1.3 Billion Dollars

A proposed Chinese law, targeting those who are found to have falsified vaccine information could be fined $720,000, reported Channel News.

This is the first time a law has explicitly targeted vaccines, which were previously covered by regulations controlling medicine. 

This new law specifies that ‘serious illegal acts’, such as submitting false test results, and not recalling problematic vaccines, would be subject to additional fines. 

Additionally, this new legislation enables patients and families to sue vaccine makers and distributors for punitive damages, if they knowingly sell faulty vaccines that cause death or serious illness. 

“This is the first time punitive damages have been introduced in civil cases relating to health,” said Zhu Yonggen, a Beijing-based medical lawyer, reported the South China Morning Post.    

"Those who participate in illegal behavior, shield or connive with violators, hide the facts through fabrication, or impede investigation will receive severe punishment," the draft law said.

This new financial penalty could increase the total fine for Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology company to over $1.3 billion dollars. 

Previously, during October 2018, Changchun Changsheng was fined $1.3 billion in penalties over a rabies vaccine scandal.   

Changchun Changsheng was ordered in July 2018 to suspend vaccine production and was stripped of its licenses to make vaccines and drugs by the Chinese State Drug Administration. 

Changchun Changsheng was found to have used expired materials, mixed different batches of products, failed to test them properly, and destroyed records to conceal its misconduct, according to the October announcement. 

Additionally, the firm's chairwoman and 14 other people were arrested during July in connection with the vaccine fraud. 

During the height of this vaccine scandal, clinics in Hong Kong saw a substantive increase of vaccinations by worried mainland parents.   

Previous new reports include:

• Second Chinese Pharma Included in Valsartan Recall
• Valsartan-Containing Product Recall Expanded by FDA
• Chinese Vaccine Producer Faked Data Since 2014

In the USA, the FDA is working with drug manufacturers to ensure future valsartan active pharmaceutical ingredients are not at risk of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in the formation. 

NDMA is classified as a probable human cancer-causing substance. 

Consumers and healthcare professionals should report any adverse reactions with valsartan-containing products, to the FDA’s MedWatch program to help the agency better understand the scope of the problem.