Medical experts stress safety of Chinese vaccines following scandal

[Photo/Xinhua]

Medical experts have stressed the safety of Chinese vaccines and encouraged the public to continue to receive immunizations following a vaccine scandal that has triggered public outrage.

"The vaccines in the market are stable and controllable in terms of their safety and effectiveness," said Wang Junzhi, member of the Expert Committee on Biological Standardization of the World Health Organization (WHO).

"China has set up a national management system that is up to WHO standards to ensure the safety of its vaccines," he said.

Initially, Chinese regulators only conducted examinations of finished vaccines. However, the quality control system has gradually evolved to cover the entire process from vaccine design and production to the finished product, according to Wang.

Regulators have also conducted sample inspections of vaccines circulating in the market, the expert said.

In addition to allowing only authorized bodies to provide raw materials, produce and distribute vaccines, China has also introduced the batch release system to ensure vaccine safety, said Yang Xiaoming, chief scientist of the vaccine project under the 863 program, a national government-funded high-tech development initiative.