u=4035759125,3655098944&fm=23&gp=0.jpg (Photo : baidu.com)
Even after medical investigators have ruled out any connection between a locally produced hepatitis B vaccine and the deaths of about 17 babies after receiving shots of the vaccine, latest data from the National Health and Family Planning Commission indicate a decrease in the number of participants to the government's free immunization program.
Conducted in 10 provinces including those where deaths of infants had been reported, the data indicates a 30% drop in the number of participants to the government's free immunization program for hepatitis B in December compared to the same period last year. The study likewise reported a 15% decrease in the number of those who availed of all the other vaccinations under the national immunization program.
JiaJidong, who heads the Liver Research Center at Beijing Friendship hospital said that the observed trend may continue for a while putting newborns at risk of infections including hepatitis B which affects the liver.
TianYali, Healthcare Department head of SanlitunHealth Service Center, which offers inoculations and physical checkups for children, said that they get inquiries about the safety of the hepatitis B vaccine ever since information on the infants' deaths were made public. Parents who had doubts about the vaccine have chosen to delay their children's inoculation.
The World Health Organization has identified hepatitis B as a potentially life-threatening infection of the liver that can lead to chronic liver diseases including cirrhosis and liver cancer. According to Bernhard Schwartlander, WHO representative in China, the hepatitis B vaccine is generally safe and effective. Since the vaccine's introduction in China in 2001 the incidence of the disease among children under 5 years old has been reduced by more than 9%.
Schwartlander added that the hepatitis B vaccination program will lead to remarkable health gains despite its reported side effects, and that there should be a continuing effort to continue the program while ensuring the safety of the vaccines used.
