中國追責疫苗醜聞責任人 China to punish officials in vaccine scandal

Hundreds of Chinese officials are to be sacked or demoted for their part in a vaccine scandal that has added to discontent at poor oversight of food and drug safety, especially relating to children.

數百名中國官員將因爲他們在疫苗醜聞中的角色而受到撤職、降級等處分。這場醜聞加劇了中國公衆對食品和藥品安全監管不到位（尤其是涉及兒童的食品和藥品）的不滿。

Xinhua, the state news agency, said late on Wednesday that 357 officials are to face punishment, with 192 criminal cases already filed and 202 people detained after improperly stored or transported vaccines were sent to 59 health institutions.

官方的新華社週三晚間報道，357名公職人員面臨處分，各地已有刑事立案192起，刑事拘留202人。此前儲存或運輸不當的疫苗被送到59家衛生機構。

This is the latest in a string of food and drug safety scandals in a country where parents often import products for infants and babies from overseas to ensure quality. Many remember with fear the 2008 milk powder scandal, in which infant formula laced with melamine caused at least six deaths and 300,000 children to fall ill.

這是中國一連串食品和藥品安全醜聞的最新一例，中國的父母往往從海外進口嬰幼兒產品，以保證質量。許多人仍對2008年曝光的配方奶粉醜聞有恐懼記憶，在那場醜聞中，三聚氰胺被故意摻入嬰幼兒配方奶粉，導致至少6名嬰幼兒死亡，30萬幼童患病。

Beijing last month made public an illegal operation in eastern Shandong province in which a hospital pharmacist and her daughter traded $88m in vaccines that may have been compromised because they were expired or improperly stored or transported.

北京方面上月公佈了發生在華東的山東省的一起非法活動，一個醫院藥劑師和她的女兒買賣了價值8800萬美元的問題疫苗，這些疫苗因爲過期或者儲存或運輸不當而可能已經變質。

The China Food and Drug Administration said, however, that the vaccines posed no greater than the normal risk to patients. “We don’t see that the vaccines’ effectiveness has been reduced,” added the health watchdog in a report.

不過，中國的國家食品藥品監督管理總局稱，接種涉案疫苗不會對受種者帶來常規不良反應以外的安全性風險。“沒有發現涉案疫苗有效性下降的情況發生，”這家衛生監督機構在《山東濟南非法經營疫苗系列案件涉案疫苗接種安全性和有效性風險評估報告》中補充稱。

Nonetheless, health officials fear a backlash against Chinese-manufactured vaccines, which already have a reputation for being more dangerous than those made overseas. Importation of many vaccines is banned.

儘管如此，衛生官員擔心中國生產的疫苗遭遇反彈；國產疫苗本來就有比進口疫苗更危險的名聲。中國禁止進口許多疫苗。

Wang Yuedan, deputy director of Peking University’s immunology department, said the key to evaluating risks is to check whether package seals are broken or for contamination with micro-organisms. “The vaccines in the Shandong case don’t have those problems,” he said.

北京大學免疫學系副主任王月丹表示，評估風險的關鍵是檢查包裝密封是否破損，或者有沒有微生物污染。“山東發生的問題疫苗案沒有這些問題，”他表示。

Those vaccines had been subject to higher than normal temperatures that could have lowered their effectiveness and reduced their protective value. But the official investigation showed the vaccines “are still effective”, he said.

曾經暴露於高於正常溫度的那些疫苗，其有效性和保護價值可能有所下降。但他表示，官方調查顯示，涉案疫苗“仍然是有效的”。

Beijing, which publicised the affair almost a year after it was exposed, and several years after it started, appeared eager to show commitment to crack down on abuses by announcing the action, political analysts said.

政治分析人士表示，北京方面在案發近一年後、涉案行爲開始幾年後公佈此案，似乎急於通過宣佈採取行動，展現嚴厲打擊違法行爲的承諾。

The CFDA said a system was being set up to track vaccines from production to use.

國家食品藥品監督管理總局稱，正在建立疫苗從生產到使用的全程追溯制度。

The World Health Organisation warned the scandal could jeopardise China’s public health gains if parents become distrustful of vaccines. It also expressed confidence in Chinese vaccines, saying public immunisation campaigns had eradicated polio and sharply reduced cases of hepatitis B and measles.

世界衛生組織(WHO)已警告稱，如果父母變得不信任疫苗，這場醜聞可能危及中國的公共衛生進展。該組織還表示對中國疫苗有信心，稱中國的公共疫苗接種行動已經根除了小兒麻痹症，還大幅減少了乙型肝炎和麻疹的病例。