World

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang calls for crackdown on vaccine industry

July 23, 2018 4:08 pm

Authorities in China have ordered an investigation into a vaccination scandal as panic grows over product safety.

Last week vaccine maker Changsheng Biotechnology Co was found to have falsified production data for its rabies vaccine.

The firm has been ordered to halt production and recall rabies vaccines.

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There has been no evidence of harm from the vaccine, but the scandal has sparked a huge outcry in China.

Changsheng, which suspended trading in its shares for part of Monday, saw their value drop by 10% on the day.

The shares have slumped 47% since mid-July, when news of the scandal first broke.

On Sunday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged severe punishment for the people involved, saying the incident had “crossed a moral line”.

“We will resolutely crack down on illegal and criminal acts that endanger the safety of peoples’ lives, resolutely punish lawbreakers according to the law, and resolutely and severely criticise dereliction of duty in supervision,” he said in a statement posted on a government website.