Public concern over hepatitis B vaccines

Questions over the safety of hepatitis B vaccinations and the government's emergency response have been raised after another newborn died following hepatitis B vaccination, bringing the suspected vaccine-related deaths to eight nationwide.

The latest death was reported in Sichuan province, where a newborn died on Monday morning in Meishan Zhongtie hospital in Meishan following a hepatitis B vaccination.

"The baby received a hepatitis B vaccination manufactured by the Beijing Tiantan Biological Products Cooperation," a staff member at the hospital told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The hospital and the baby's parents are negotiating over conducting an autopsy but there's no more information at the moment, she said.

Since November, four infants have died in South China's Guangdong province after hepatitis B vaccinations manufactured by BioKangtai, a Shenzhen drug manufacturer, while two babies in neighboring Hunan Province and another in Sichuan died in similar circumstances, the Xinhua News Agency reported Tuesday.

The four deaths in Guangdong occurred in Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Shenzhen and Meizhou, but the baby that died in Zhongshan was reported to have died of pneumonia rather than the vaccine, according to the provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) and the National Health and Family Planning Commission announced Tuesday afternoon that 198 batches of over 44 million doses of hepatitis B vaccine sold to 27 provinces by BioKangtai have been suspended from medical practices.

Besides BioKangtai, there are five other domestic hepatitis B vaccination producers and current stock can meet the needs of nearly 25 million people, the CFDA said on Tuesday.

Questions about whether the government should have suspended use of BioKangtai vaccines earlier are being asked.

Li Guoqing, director of the CFDA's department of drug and cosmetics sales supervision, said that some experts think the government has overreacted by suspending all batches of vaccination.

However, in order to control the risks, Li said the suspension is necessary, the Legal Mirror reported.

According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, from the year 2000 to Friday, 188 deaths have been reported after hepatitis B vaccinations.

Among them, 18 were confirmed as adverse reactions to immunization, the Beijing News reported Tuesday.