Parents of young children who were vaccinated in parts of China last year are being urged to check records for a recalled vaccine.
According to the BC Centre for Disease Control, two batches of vaccines failed testing and were recalled for not offering complete protection in October 2017.
The vaccines were used in China from March to October last year for DTP – or diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, which is more commonly known as whooping cough.
The vaccines, which are often given to children at three, four, five and 18 months of age, were used by provincial disease control centres in both the Shandong and Hebei provinces, and by the city of Chongqing's Disease Prevention and Control Centre.
While there are no safety concerns related to the vaccines, children who received one of these vaccines may require additional vaccination for full protection.
Parents are urged to check immunization records and contact local health authorities if their child received a vaccine from either batch. Additional details about the specific vaccines are available on the BC Centre for Disease Control website.
International protests rise up over vaccine quality standards
Meanwhile, in China, about a dozen people held a rare protest outside China's Health Ministry to demand action over multiple vaccine scandals.
Anger had stemmed from the revelation that major pharmaceutical manufacturer Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology had fabricated production and inspection records, and was exacerbated when the DTP vaccine failed to meet quality standards. Nonetheless, 250,000 doses were sold last year.
The depth of public outrage have appeared to catch authorities off-guard, and national leaders have vowed a thorough safety clean-up of the pharmaceutical sector.
With files from AFP
