Death Cases Following Room Temperature Exposure... Shinsung Pharmaceutical Flu Vaccine Faces Consecutive Controversies

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Amid ongoing issues related to influenza (flu) vaccines such as safety concerns and supply shortages, Shinseong Pharmaceutical has repeatedly been embroiled in controversies. Following an incident of room temperature exposure during distribution, a teenager who received a vaccine procured by Shinseong Pharmaceutical has died. Although a causal relationship with the vaccination has not yet been confirmed, health authorities plan to investigate the exact cause of death through an autopsy.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced on the 19th that a teenager from the Incheon area who recently received a free flu vaccination died two days after the vaccination.

The deceased adolescent received the free vaccination at a private medical institution at 12 PM on the 14th. There were no unusual signs before or after the vaccination, but the teenager died on the morning of the 16th.

The vaccine administered to the deceased teenager was a "nationally procured" vaccine provided by the government to medical institutions. KDCA Commissioner Jung Eun-kyung explained, "The vaccine given to the deceased teenager was indeed a nationally procured vaccine," adding, "It was a product distributed by Shinseong Pharmaceutical, but it has been confirmed that there were no issues during the distribution process for this product."

However, the causal relationship between the vaccination and the death has not yet been established. The KDCA is currently investigating the cause of death through an autopsy. Commissioner Jung stated, "We are also investigating whether there have been any adverse reactions among people who received the same vaccine, but so far, no abnormal findings have been reported."

Shinseong Pharmaceutical is the company that caused an incident by violating the cold chain, which requires maintaining temperatures between 2 to 8 degrees Celsius during the transport of flu vaccines, exposing them to room temperature or below 0 degrees Celsius (freezing). Consequently, the government recalled about 480,000 doses out of the 5.39 million doses distributed by Shinseong Pharmaceutical and suspended the national free vaccination program for two weeks.

However, considering the degree and duration of inappropriate temperature exposure during transport, the government judged that the vaccine’s quality was not affected and that there are no safety issues.

Separately from the vaccine safety issues, Shinseong Pharmaceutical has also been caught up in allegations of collusion. On the 8th, Rep. Jeon Bong-min of the People Power Party questioned during the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee’s audit that Shinseong Pharmaceutical submitted the same bid amount as its affiliate Shinseong New Pharm and formed a consortium with a company other than its affiliate. Rep. Kang Byung-won of the Democratic Party pointed out that Shinseong Pharmaceutical purchased vaccines from Green Cross at prices higher than the winning bid price.