Scientist who developed China’s first vaccine now facing disciplinary charges, expelled from parliament
Yang Xiaoming is a former chairman of Sinopharm’s vaccine subsidiary
The scientist who led the efforts to develop China’s first anti-Covid vaccine has now been expelled from the parliament and is facingseriouscharges, reported Hong-based media outlet South China Morning Post.
Yang Xiaoming is a veteran researcher and former chairman of China National Biotec Group, a vaccine subsidiary of state-owned Sinopharm. It was only under his leadership that China developed Sinopharm’s BBIBP-CorV vaccine, China’s first coronavirus shot.
China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) on Friday (Apr 26) said in a statement that hewas removedfor alleged “serious violations of discipline and law”.
An investigation has alreadybeen launchedagainst the 62-year-old scientist by the party disciplinary body, SCMP reported.
Sinopharm’s BBIBP-CorV vaccine was one of the most used vaccines in the country andwas exportedto at least 112 nations.Lateron, it causedhugeembarrassment for the Chinese government asquestions were raisedoverthe vaccine’s efficacy.
China’s crackdown on corruption in the health industry
The action against Yang Xiaoming comes amidst an ongoing crackdown against corruption in China’s health sector by President Xi Jinping.
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The crackdownisspecificallytargetinghospitals, drug companies and insurance funds, which also resulted in the arrest of several hospital chiefs last year.
The campaign is an extension of Xi’s 2012 anti-corruption drive.
Who is Yang Xiaoming?
Yang Xiaoming is a big name in China’s vaccine development industry.In past, he served as a chief engineer andchiefscientist at Sinopharm.
He is also serving as the chief scientist of the vaccine project under China’s national 863 programme.
The COVID-19 vaccine developed under his leadership was approved for use in December 2020, which also got the nod from the World Health Organization (WHO) for international use.
In a 2021 interview, Xiaoming had described his vaccine as a “miracle”, developed in a record time of just 330 days.
Earlier, he was rewarded forhis role infighting the pandemic and was given a national award in September 2020.
(With inputs from agencies)