A Critical Approach to the Understanding of Criminology Through the Prism of the Vaccine Scandal

Research question: what is the social impact of vaccine scandal in china?

Introduction

A vaccine scandal has bust out in china in July 2018. As authorities’ investigation going on, Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology Co. , the main manufacturer of DTP vaccine and rabies Vaccine was fined by the nation’s drug regulator for having produced 250,000 low-quality vaccines for infants. (Bloomberg. How Faulty Vaccines Sparked Consumer Panic in China. 2018) It was also found to have fabricated production and inspection data for a rabies vaccine as far back as 2014, using expired materials in making some batches.

Regulators also found that state-owned Wuhan Institute of Biological Products Co. , another major vaccine maker, produced more than 400,000 low-quality infant vaccines (Bloomberg. How Faulty Vaccines Sparked Consumer Panic in China. 2018). As a Chinese, I am not one of them, I haven’t been injected faulty vaccine, but I could feel their pain. it was the biggest news in the first half of 2018, and this scandal has caused large impact on china’s society.

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Theory 1. The perspective of the politization of criminals and the criminalization of politicians. Moises Naim illustrated in his article: criminals are in power, (Moise Naim in Criminological Perspectives. Mclaughlin, E& Muncie. London Sage. PP: 622. 2013. ). It can be used to describe the role of some government authorities in vaccine scandal, they accepted bribes and shadowed for illicit vaccine. That is why Chinese people lost their faith to government.

Routine activity theory. Lawrence Cohen said, “in routine activities theory, crime is 2 likely to occur when three essential elements of crime converge in space and time: a motivated offender, an attractive target, and the absence of capable guardianship” (Cohen; Felson.

Social Change and Crime Rate Trends: A Routine Activity Approach. American Sociological Review. 44 (4): 588–608. 1979. ). The three elements of routine activity theory have been met in this case. The people hunger for profits, the vulnerable multitude who know nothing, and the corrupt supervisors, the profits are sky-high and the risks is next to nothing. it can be used to describe the reason why this scandal happened.

Ulrich Beck’s risk society theory about the distraction of risks. Globalization creates risks that concern people from all different classes. Affluent households act to insulate themselves from these risks…, the poor suffer them…the history of risk distribution shows that, like wealth, risks adhere to the class pattern, only inversely; wealth accumulates at the top, risk at the bottom. (Beck. Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. London Sage. PP: 23. 1992) This theory can explain how this scandal influence people from different social class. The wealthy people can use their wealth to buy alternative vaccine with higher quality when face unsafe vaccine, but the poor can’t afford this, in that case, the poor will suffer more than the rich.

Ulrich Beck’s risk society theory about why government and institutions lose their credibility. Beck said: “a lack of control over the risks and uncertainties of manufactured risks, and a lack of visible responsibility for the outcomes of such risks has led to traditional institutions such as government and science losing their legitimacy, and a growing public scepticism of these institutions”. (Beck. The Anthropological 3 Shock: Chernobyl and the Contours of the Risk Society. Berkley Journal of Sociology, 32. PP: 156. 1987). I want to use this aspect to explain the risk’s social influences on Chinese people. Argument About the risk. what happened. Last November, the government announced that 253,338 DPT vaccines produced by the Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology company were defective, as well as more than 400,000 doses produced by a separate company, the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products.

The spiraling vaccine crisis started in July when China's State Council announced that the second batch of diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DPT) vaccines, produced by Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology, had been discovered to be "substandard" -- 247,200 injections in total (CNN. Number of faulty children's vaccines in China surges to over 900,000. 2018). This is a big blow to the credibility of the vaccine after a similar scandal in 2016, involving about two million improperly stored vaccines that were sold around the country. (NY Times. In China, Vaccine Scandal Infuriates Parents and Tests Government. 2018) And in 2018, same thing has happened again, it made me recalling another public health crisis, in 2008, when tainted milk powder killed six infants and left 300,000 others ill. (the Guardian. 'They are devils': China's parents demand answers over vaccine scandal. 2018). according to Chinese state media that most of the DPT vaccine in question had been sold to the province of Shandong. The company recalled 186 doses that were still in stock at the regional disease centre and was fined 3. 44 million RMB. (Epoch Times. The faulty 4 vaccine makes the Chinese people angry. 2018) Why it happened. If we see this scandal through the perspective of routine activity theory, we will find that several elements contribute to this scandal. The first one is high profits. According to the financial annual report of Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology, the gross profit margin of vaccine is 86% and the income through selling vaccine in 2017 was 1. 5 billion RMB, while the cost was only 0. 2 billion RMB. (Souhu news. The secret of Changsheng biological co. ’s 600 million sales. 2018), it is an astonishing figure and a temptation hard to resist. The second element is vulnerable victims, Chinese knew nothing about faulty vaccine before it was exposed on the internet.

So, they just bought the ‘poise’ themselves. Third, loose regulation. people said that nearly a year had elapsed from the time the police uncovered the illicit trade and the time the public first learned about it in February. (NY Times. China’s Vaccine Scandal Threatens Public Faith in Immunizations. 2018). It seemed like the authorities had covered it for nearly half a year. In conclude, Millions of money, vulnerable people who were unaware, and the lack of supervision. The perpetrate just seize the opportunity. Just like routine activity theory said, crime is normal and can happen every day if criminals got good chance and enough profits with little risk. (Cohen; Felson. Social Change and Crime Rate Trends: A Routine Activity Approach. American Sociological Review. 44 (4): 588–608. 1979). Social reaction. Distrust and feeling of unfair. 5 Public distrust stems from suspicion of the government and industry’s motives, and the inability of government to regulate industry in such cases. (Chilvers& Macnaghten.

The Future of Science Governance

A review of public concerns, governance and institutional response. University of East Anglia and Durham University. April 2011. pp. 15-16) After the disclosure of the scandal, ordinary Chinese started to lose confidence on government and vaccine manufacturer. First, these companies which made and sold faulty vaccine to the multitude are all large enterprises holding the certificate of manufacturing vaccine, but they turned out to be dishonest and coldblooded. Chasing private profits, these vaccine manufacturers disregarded social and moral principles. (Wangyi news. Why can't Chinese children escape the faulty vaccine? 2018). Second, Beck said: “a lack of control over the risks and uncertainties of manufactured risks, and a lack of visible responsibility for the outcomes of such risks has led to traditional institutions such as government and science losing their legitimacy, and a growing public scepticism of these institutions”. (Beck. The Anthropological Shock: Chernobyl and the Contours of the Risk Society. Berkley Journal of Sociology, 32. PP: 156. 1987) the local regulatory authorities failed to supervise and prevent this scandal happening has made Chinese become suspicious. Is there anything fishy? Why they didn’t tell us and why they tried to cover it at first? One of the medias in china reported that Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology Co. , the company which manufactured DTP and rabies vaccine had convicted several bribery cases in recent years. The salesmen bribed local hospitals and Disease Prevention Department through rebates. (Souhu news. The secret of Changsheng biological co. ’s 600 million sales. 2018). It is a 6 shocking situation that the local government should play a role in it and has proved some people’s suspect is not unreasonable. This is a perfect fit for what Moise Naim cited from the Guardian in his article: “the signs of collusion between the criminal class and the highest political and institutional office holders are too numerous and too serious to be ignored. ” (Moise Naim in Criminological Perspectives. McLaughlin, E& Muncie, J. London Sage. PP: 623. 2013).

As a result, the credibility of government and enterprises as social organizations has lost. Beck’s theory about the risks’ distribution can help to explain why people feel unfair. Beck said: “The history of risk distribution shows that, like wealth, risks adhere to the class pattern, only inversely; wealth accumulates at the top, risk at the bottom” (Beck. Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity. London: Sage. PP: 23. 1992). Because of this scandal, many wealthy Chinese choose to go to Hong Kong to inject vaccine, all children's vaccines in Hong Kong are imported from foreign countries. Therefore, private clinics usually have about 20% of their customs from mainland who come to Hong Kong to inject foreign vaccines. (Epoch Times. The faulty vaccine makes the Chinese people angry. 2018) Although many people are influenced by this scandal whether vaccinated or not, wealthy people can afford pricy foreign vaccine, thus they can ease the risk, while the poor can only swallow the depressed and uncertainty to other vaccines by themselves. So, the poor will shoulder more risks than the wealthy. fine, arrest and fix Chinese government and state media reacted quite quickly after the scandal exposed.

According to local media, on the evening of July 22, Premier Li Keqiang gave 7 instructions to investigate the case. On July 23, the State Council investigation team rushed to Jilin to carry out investigations into the case of Changchun Changsheng illegal production of rabies vaccines. on July 24, the Public Security Bureau of Changchun New District announced that 15 suspects, including Gao Junfang, had been taken into criminal detention. Then Changsheng Biotechnology Co. , Ltd. was fined 3. 44 million RMB. From July 21 to July 24, the Chinese government completed the official media and high-level officials, notified the initial situation and launched a comprehensive investigation, arresting involved, in this crisis. The reaction was quickly carried out. It should be said that the government’s response to the vaccine public crisis incident is relatively successful. (Huxiu. Summary and Thoughts on Chinese vaccine events in 2018. 2018).

In just three days, more than 30 officials were held accountable, among them, seven provincial and ministerial-level cadres were involved in the report, namely Jin Yuhui, Li Jinxiu, Liu Changlong, Bi Jingquan, Jiang Zhiying, Jiao Hong and Wu Hao. (China News. The vaccine event Thunder is accountable! Dozens of officials were processed within three days! 2018) fell of share price. There is no doubt that the scandal in 2018 has caused a chain reaction. Stock market reflected immediately after vaccine scandal broke out, Changsheng has been in a downward spiral, losing 70 percent since July 13. The fallout has spread beyond vaccine makers, with all the health-care companies trading in the Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index lower since the scandal began. (Bloomberg. How Faulty Vaccines Sparked Consumer Panic in China. 2018).

Conclusion

As an ordinary Chinese, I myself is furious as well. And it recalled us the same type of events before, so it made us more furious, more depressed and more helpless. but I know, there is no panacea, the quality and safety of vaccine will be a problem in a long time. This scandal has showed us how far we need to go in chasing a bright future for our country.