Police in Shandong province have made 37 arrests for the illegal distribution of vaccines. The arrests are part of a public health crisis that has galvanized serious concerns about drug safety and a possible government cover-up in the world's second-largest medical market, according to The Guardian.
Here are five things to know about China's vaccine scandal:
1. The scandal broke last month when authorities acknowledged an April 2015 arrest of a mother and daughter accused of selling $88 million worth of vaccines since 2011. Chinese citizens have expressed concern about the belated nature of the announcement, according to The Guardian.
2. The investigation is centered on 12 vaccine types that were improperly stored or expired. It is not known how many people were exposed these drugs.
3. Three pharmaceutical companies are currently under investigation. One has been named, Shandong Zhaoxin Bio-tech Co. The company has been ordered to cease operations.
4. China has a long history of public health scares and government-withheld information. In 2002, Chinese authorities were slow to report an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, which contributed to the deaths of hundreds in China and other nations.
5. According to The Guardian, the World Health Organization's Chinese office issued a statement asserting that improperly stored or expired vaccines seldom pose a health risk. "The risk to children is lack of protection from the disease for which the vaccine was intended," the WHO statement said.
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