Vaccines Face Higher Levels of Scrutiny, Quality Control

6 | Tuesday, March 12, 2019 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY TWO SESSIONS Zone to spur Yangtze Vaccines face higher levels River Delta integration By ZHOU WENTING close its door to the world and [email protected] reform will never stop,” Li said. of scrutiny, quality control Shao Zhiqing, a national legisla A demonstration zone showcas tor from Shanghai, said a unified ing the integration of the Yangtze business environment is a key River Delta is designed to help the aspect of integrated development. Shortcomings in region better serve a larger area, “Areas in the delta region should said Li Qiang, Party secretary of not just emphasize their own antirabies product Shanghai. advantages in attracting invest last year prompted The zone, located at the junction ment. Instead, they should consider between Shanghai and the provin their advantages as a whole within oversight changes ces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, is part the entire region,” said Shao, who is of the national strategy of realizing also a member of the Central Com By WANG XIAODONG integrated development of the Yang mittee of the China Zhi Gong Dang. [email protected] tze River Delta region, Li said during Lu Yongquan, an NPC deputy the ongoing second session of the and director of the Jiangsu Provin Drug regulators and vaccine pro 13th National People’s Congress. cial Traffic and Transportation ducers will face intensified scrutiny The zone was designed to serve as Department, said that the province to ensure product safety and quality, a new bench mark for development is making plans to connect its roads, a top drug supervision official said concepts, an experimental field for railways, waterways and airports on Monday. integrated institutions and mecha with those of Shanghai and Zhe Vaccines are a major public health nisms, and a new engine for high jiang province. issue because they involve matters quality development of the delta “We’re striving to start construc of life and death as well as national region, according to a plan by the tion of the highspeed railway link security, and efforts are now being National Development and Reform ing many cities on the northern side made to establish an effective super Commission, Li said. of the Yangtze in 2019, which will visory mechanism over vaccines, “The overall idea of the demon start in Shanghai, run through said Jiao Hong, head of the China stration zone is to gather together Jiangsu and terminate in Anhui Medical Products Administration. all kinds of reform measures imple province’s city of Hefei. It will great To ensure effective supervision mented at local level since reform ly help with the integration of the over the sector, the administration and openingup, integrate them Yangtze River Delta region. will focus on urging vaccine produc systematically and form new pilot “A number of highways that con ers and local drug authorities to car Zhang Mao, head of the State Administration of Market Regulation, speaks with reporters after a news experiments,” Li said. nect Jiangsu with other cities in the ry out their respective duties, Jiao conference on market supervision during the ongoing session of the 13th National People’s Congress in “Such pilot experiments in the region will see construction begin said at a news conference in Beijing Beijing on Monday. FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY Yangtze River Delta region with its this year,” he said. “A new bus route during the annual sessions of Chi large GDP, rapid development, that commutes between Xuzhou, na’s top legislative and advisory abundant scientific and technologi Jiangsu and Xiaoxian, Anhui will bodies. The safety and quality of drugs drafted and submitted to the top disease prevention and control, cal resources, and active market also begin operating soon.” Vaccine producers must take have been a major public concern legislature for review at the end of nor in the quality and safety of vac factors, will be crucial to the coun The three provinces and Shang measures to ensure the quality of over the past few years in China, last year. cines produced in China,” he said. try’s overall economic develop hai have reached an agreement to their products, including establish with sporadic reports of alarming Jiao said the new law will impose Fang Laiying, a member of the ment,” he said, adding that shut down interprovincial toll sta ing sound quality control systems incidents such as the use of expired stricter supervision over vaccines, 13th National Committee of the Chi Shanghai is working with Zhejiang tions, Lu said. Jiangsu’s traffic and and product tracing systems, and vaccines. covering the whole manufacturing nese People’s Political Consultative and Jiangsu on the detailed plan transportation authority has also implement product risk report Changchun Changsheng Biotech chain including research and devel Conference, China’s top political ning and system designs of the already announced the closing of 17 regulations, she said. Co, a major producer of a rabies vac opment, production, circulation advisory body, suggested during the demonstration zone. toll stations in the province. The administration will further cine in Jilin province, was found by and use. body’s ongoing annual session that Li also said construction of the “Jiangsu will become the first clarify supervisory responsibilities on China’s top drug regulator last year “We are working with related a producttracing system be estab demonstration zone will provide a province in China to have no inter the part of local drug authorities, and to have committed various viola departments to research and formu lished to ensure the safety and quali major opportunity for Shanghai’s provincial toll stations and will thus urge provinciallevel drug authorities tions such as using expired materi late additional legal regulations and ty of vaccines. further development as well as a provide convenience for drivers to intensify site inspections over vac als and faking production over a rules to prepare for its implementa “Every box of vaccines should key platform for the city to better crossing provincial borders.” cine producers, she said. fouryear period. tion,” Jiao said. have a code that stores product serve the country. Li Jinbin, Party secretary of The administration will increase Although no deaths or injuries Gao Fu, head of the Chinese Cen information, including its date of The integrated development of Anhui province — which is also patrols and random inspections linked to the case have been report ter for Disease Control and Preven manufacture, circulation and use, the delta region has been elevated included in the national strategy of over vaccine producers across the ed, the incident shocked the nation, tion, said incidents such as the so the batch can be quickly recalled to a national strategy, and its further the integrated development of the country, and severely punish viola prompting top officials to vow inten Changchun Changsheng case are if anyone reports quality problems, integration is part of the blueprint delta region — said that such a tors, Jiao said. sified supervision over the sector. just individual cases and do not rep and users of such vaccines can be to improve reform and openingup, development opportunity signals Meanwhile, it will improve train A new law, the Vaccine Adminis resent the entire sector. precisely identified,” said Fang, who as announced by President Xi Jin that Anhui can seize the chance to ing of drug inspection officers to tration Law, which imposes much “We should not compromise our is also vicepresident of the Chinese ping in Shanghai in November. be an open gateway to access global improve their efficiency, she said. higher penalties on violators, was faith in the power of vaccines in Hospital Association. The announcement signified resources. that development of the region — Anhui will use its strength in sci which is at the significant conver entific innovation and industrial gence of the Belt and Road Initia development to pursue future tive and the Yangtze River growth, Li Jinbin said. Nation working toward reducing myopia by 2030 Economic Belt and contributes “We will step up efforts to build a more than 20 percent to the coun national scientific center and accel By WANG XIAODONG academic workloads and poor dieta opment of vision. try’s GDP — will be fasttracked. erate industrial transformation by [email protected] ry practices, she said. Children in rural and especially “President Xi made the leveraging our sound foundation in 23 “Myopia not only affects the impoverished areas are less likely to announcement at the special occa industrial robots, home appliances The increasing prevalence of percent healthy growth of children, but also get proper treatment for myopia, sion of the opening ceremony of the and voice recognition technology,” nearsightedness, or myopia, among of children between 4 and 6 has a significant impact on national and greater efforts should be made first China International Import he said. students in China has been a public screened in a survey in Beijing economic development,” she said. to improve equipment and treat Expo, which once again demon health concern in recent years and have vision problems. “In recent years, recruitment cam ment in vision departments at local strated the clear attitude and firm Ma Si, Zhu Lixin and Cang Wei has now come to discussion at one paigns in some industries with high hospitals and clinics, said He. determination that China will not contributed to this story. of China’s most important meetings, er vision requirements, such as Wang, from Beijing Tongren Hos at which national political advisers among Chinese students, he said. In aviation, have encountered increas pital, said the joint efforts of various have called for intensified efforts to many medical colleges, about 90 ing difficulty in finding enough parties, including health and educa Spreading the word remedy the situation.

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