Child victims  of fake vaccines re-inoculated

This article is more than 12 months old

Jul 19, 2016 06:01 am

Indonesia yesterday began re-vaccinating nearly 200 children who received fake versions of imported inoculations from a drug-counterfeiting ring broken up last month after operating for more than a decade.

President Joko Widodo urged calm as public uproar intensified over revelations that health officials had known about the syndicate for several years, but had done little to stop it.

No illnesses or deaths have been directly linked to the fake vaccines, officials said.

The ring used stolen vials and forged labels to make the fake medicine look like real imported vaccinesfor hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough.

Health officials said the sham vaccines were not harmful and made up only one per cent of total vaccines in Indonesia.

Investigators are trying to determine how widely the fake drugs were distributed.