In China they shoot 'em!

[Lambada]

In the DR they get bail. I'm referring to the owners of distribution networks of the tetanus vaccination which turned out to be either contaminated or fake & which has resulted in at least two deaths. The people concerned have been charged yet released on bail. Minister of Health says he didn't know they were out on bail. Probably they were not thought to be a flight risk?

Libertan imputados por fármacos falsos

Farmacéuticos preocupados por incremento de medicinas falsificadas en RD

[MikeFisher]

right Ginnie,
that been an terror attack against the dominican public.
they should hang right aside the drugtraffickers.
to let them bail out is ridiculous.
Mike

[Lambada]

Looks like Ministry of Health received warning about this in 2006 & again in 2008 but only took action in February 2009 after the fatalities. In readers' letters on El Caribe there is a suggestion that some hospital pharmacies are also selling these vaccinations & that Ministry of Health was involved. More on Nuria tonight.
Salud conocía anomalías

[MikeFisher]

we do not just have gubmin/military aso involved in the drugtraffic, those gubmin guys make their millions everywhere.
in china such dangerously corrup secretaries would get shot,
here on the Isle they will be send as Embassador of the DR to some far away country and they all will keep their millions they made.
Mike

[A.Hidalgo]

And here is the report from Nuria.....she does it again.


Nuria

[Lambada]

Chilling, utterly chilling. Watch this & you'll never buy another drug in the DR again, let alone take it! Also see today's DR1 News

'The Ministry of Public Health was aware of the marketing of counterfeit anti-tetanus medicines in Dominican pharmacies, a report in El Caribe on Saturday says. The company Farmacuba, Importadora y Exportadora had alerted the Ministry in a letter that counterfeit product with their company name was circulating. El Caribe reports that Andres Montes Perea of Farmacuba notified Maria Villa de Pina, director of Drugs and Pharmacies of the Ministry of Public Health. It was not until TV journalist Nuria Piera presented TV reports indicating that the forged medicines were behind the death of two persons that could have been saved if they had received the real gamma globulin injection that the Ministry of Public Health has taken action...........In an editorial, Hoy newspaper on Saturday urges the government to review its pharmaceutical controls, alerting that trafficking in fake medicines is a lucrative international business that moves millions. The newspaper says that as in the case of drug trafficking, trading in fake pharmaceuticals has obviously had the complicity of those in authority.

How many other medicines here are counterfeit? Known about & sold with the full agreement of the Ministry of Health? How many? And which ones?

[A.Hidalgo]

This thing is sounding much worse than the school milk controversy.

[MikeFisher]

that sounds like they knew it all but for some 'secret' reasons took no action until the media spread out the word about it.
the people in charge at the ministry of health should be in custody and under interrogation to get their involvement out on the daylight.
if proofed guilty that they been informed/knew about such and did not act would in my eyes mean that they deserve more punishment than a simple lil drugtrafficker, and for the drug guys i plee for the shot in the neck.
Mike

[Lambada]

Originally Posted by A.Hidalgo

This thing is sounding much worse than the school milk controversy.

Yes, at least no one died as a result of the school milk. Reassuring to know that this practice has been going on since God was a boy. The Minister of Health (YES the Minister himself) recalls that back in 1979 when he was doing his pasantia (internship) in Moca, the hospital was selling counterfeit drugs to those who needed cheap medicines.
Hace más de 30 años falsifican medicinas; cierran suplidoras en Moca - ElNacional.com.do

So..........the fact that this is nothing new somehow gives it a veneer of historical respectability...................?

[Lambada]

This is interesting and somewhat ironic - at a time when Nuria has exposed the use of counterfeit vaccines in DR, the Government is busy pressurising GSK to drop an ad advising hepatitis vaccinations for Canadians. From today's DR1 News:

Company will remove ad
The GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical company has announced that it will remove an ad campaign urging Canadian citizens to obtain Hepatitis A and B vaccinations before arriving in the DR. The company decided to end the campaign after the DR's Tourism and Health officials, Francisco Javier Garcia and Bautista Rojas Gomez, criticized the campaign, calling it negative and affecting the DR's tourism sector. Both ministers called for the campaign to be removed from air, print and television. In a press release GlaxoSmithKline says its been working for 30 years in the DR and prides itself on the work done for the health of the Dominican public. The firm said that it occasionally urges travelers to get shots to other Caribbean destinations, not just the DR.

Meanwhile the CDC says vaccination is 'Recommended for all unvaccinated people traveling to or working in countries with an intermediate or high level of hepatitis A virus infection (see map) where exposure might occur through food or water'
Health Information for Dominican Republic | CDC Travelers' Health

The DR counts as an 'intermediate' area. Sorry, GlaxoSmithKline (& the DR Gov't ) I will continue to advise people to consult their physicians and get vaccinated before arrival.