Indonesia today began re-inoculating children who received fake vaccines in a major drug counterfeiting scandal that has sparked protests from concerned parents. 
 
President Joko Widodo attended a health clinic in Jakarta at which 36 children were given fresh booster vaccines, vowing the process would continue until all youngsters affected had received new shots. 
 
The health ministry said the first stage of re-inoculation would take place at four hospitals and clinics on the main island of Java where children had been identified as having received fake vaccines. 
 
Police last month smashed a criminal syndicate accused of selling fake vaccines for more than a decade to health clinics across Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 255 million people. 
 
Twenty-three people, including midwives and doctors, have been arrested for alleged involvement in the scheme and vaccines have been confiscated from dozens of health centres across the country. 
 
One of the midwives at the clinic visited by Widodo on Monday is suspected of involvement in the scam, the president said. 
 
The scandal sparked panic and anger among Indonesian families, who last week rallied outside hospitals demanding answers about their children&#39;s health. 
 
Widodo urged concerned parents to remain calm and give authorities time as they assess the scale of the problem, suggesting reforms could be needed in future to protect the community. 
 
&quot;This gives us all momentum to improve governance around the pharmaceutical industry regarding the manufacture and distribution of medicines, including vaccines,&quot; Widodo told reporters. 
 
&quot;Our goal is for the entire community to receive good health care.&quot; 
 
The syndicate, which police said operated for more than a decade, manufactured and distributed fake boosters for diseases including tuberculosis, hepatitis B and tetanus. 
 
The scandal was brought to light after a major pharmaceutical company alerted Indonesian authorities that some of its products had been counterfeited. 
 
(AFP)

The first stage would take place at four Java hospitals and clinics, where children had received fake vaccines

Indonesia today began re-inoculating children who received fake vaccines in a major drug counterfeiting scandal that has sparked protests from concerned parents. President Joko Widodo attended a health clinic in Jakarta at which 36 children were given fresh booster vaccines, vowing the process would continue until all youngsters affected had received new shots. The health ministry said the first stage of re-inoculation would take place at four hospitals and clinics on the main island of Java where children had been identified as having received fake vaccines. Police last month smashed a criminal syndicate accused of selling fake vaccines for more than a decade to health clinics across Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 255 million people. Twenty-three people, including midwives and doctors, have been arrested for alleged involvement in the scheme and vaccines have been confiscated from dozens of health centres across the country. One of the midwives at the clinic visited by Widodo on Monday is suspected of involvement in the scam, the president said. The scandal sparked panic and anger among Indonesian families, who last week rallied outside hospitals demanding answers about their children's health. Widodo urged concerned parents to remain calm and give authorities time as they assess the scale of the problem, suggesting reforms could be needed in future to protect the community. "This gives us all momentum to improve governance around the pharmaceutical industry regarding the manufacture and distribution of medicines, including vaccines," Widodo told reporters. "Our goal is for the entire community to receive good health care." The syndicate, which police said operated for more than a decade, manufactured and distributed fake boosters for diseases including tuberculosis, hepatitis B and tetanus. The scandal was brought to light after a major pharmaceutical company alerted Indonesian authorities that some of its products had been counterfeited. (AFP)

Indonesia re-vaccinates children amid fake drug scandal

Japan&#39;s&nbsp;military&nbsp;on Wednesday joined the&nbsp;search&nbsp;for a seven-year-old&nbsp;boyabandoned&nbsp;in a dense northern forest by his parents as&nbsp;punishment&nbsp;for being naughty.

Seventy five members of the Self-Defence Forces joined 200 police and civilians beating their way through thick brush in the mountainous forest on Hokkaido island.

A local hunter was also added to the&nbsp;search&nbsp;for Yamato Tanooka after fresh bear tracks were found in the area where he vanished on Saturday, Jiji news agency said.

The&nbsp;boy&#39;s parents first said he disappeared while they foraged for edible plants, but later told police they had left him by the road to discipline him after he threw stones at people and cars.

They said when they drove back a few minutes later the&nbsp;boy&nbsp;had disappeared. The area is so remote that residents of the region say they rarely go through it.

Despite the larger&nbsp;search&nbsp;party no leads turned up on Wednesday, with many worrying the&nbsp;boymight not have survived heavy rains which fell on Tuesday night. He was last seen wearing a t-shirt and jeans in an area where the overnight temperatures can fall as low as 7 Celsius (45 Fahrenheit).

The&nbsp;search&nbsp;has gripped Japan, with news programmes offering hourly updates, and thousands have taken to the internet to both pray for the&nbsp;boy&#39;s survival and excoriate his parents for what is seen as neglect.

&quot;If I was a small child in this situation I would either run after the car or wait there until they came back. I just hope he is safely found,&quot; one person wrote.

Japan's?military?on Wednesday joined the?search?for a seven-year-old?boy abandoned?in a dense northern forest by his parents as?punishment?for being naughty

Japan's military on Wednesday joined the search for a seven-year-old boyabandoned in a dense northern forest by his parents as punishment for being naughty. Seventy five members of the Self-Defence Forces joined 200 police and civilians beating their way through thick brush in the mountainous forest on Hokkaido island. A local hunter was also added to the search for Yamato Tanooka after fresh bear tracks were found in the area where he vanished on Saturday, Jiji news agency said. The boy's parents first said he disappeared while they foraged for edible plants, but later told police they had left him by the road to discipline him after he threw stones at people and cars. They said when they drove back a few minutes later the boy had disappeared. The area is so remote that residents of the region say they rarely go through it. Despite the larger search party no leads turned up on Wednesday, with many worrying the boymight not have survived heavy rains which fell on Tuesday night. He was last seen wearing a t-shirt and jeans in an area where the overnight temperatures can fall as low as 7 Celsius (45 Fahrenheit). The search has gripped Japan, with news programmes offering hourly updates, and thousands have taken to the internet to both pray for the boy's survival and excoriate his parents for what is seen as neglect. "If I was a small child in this situation I would either run after the car or wait there until they came back. I just hope he is safely found," one person wrote.

Military joins search for Japanese boy abandoned as punishment

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