Vaccines face higher levels of scrutiny, quality control

Shortcomings in anti-rabies product last year prompted oversight changes

Drug regulators and vaccine producers will face intensified scrutiny to ensure product safety and quality, a top drug supervision official said on Monday.

Vaccines are a major public health issue because they involve matters of life and death as well as national security, and efforts are now being made to establish an effective supervisory mechanism over vaccines, said Jiao Hong, head of the China Medical Products Administration.