The latest vaccine scandal, exposed in East China's Shandong province in early March, has generated excessive unprofessional interpretations of possible side effects, as it involves 570 million yuan ($87 million) worth of vaccines that were suspected of being sold to 24 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions without being kept and transported in the required refrigerated conditions.

Undoubtedly, the vaccine scandal has brought about very adverse social effects and its occurrence has underlined management and supervision loopholes in the production and use of vaccines. All involved in the scandal should be held accountable in accordance with the law. Vaccines that fail to be strictly stored and transported as required, however, are neither equivalent to "poisonous vaccines" as described by some nor will they inevitably produce the terrible consequences suggested.

The posting of previous media reports about "problem vaccines", has meant the country's drug epidemic prevention regulators have been severely criticized. However, a calm and objective look at these reports will reveal that the hazardous consequences of the "problem vaccines" were exaggerated. People with any medical knowledge will easily discern that there actually exists no links between the "problem vaccines" and the "strange diseases" the reports claimed some children had contracted as a result of being vaccinated with invalid vaccines.