After two injections, the institution closed down! Frequent complaints about vaccination on online platforms, resulting in high prices for purchasing HPV vaccine packages

With the approval of the extended age vaccination of the Merck Dong nine valent HPV vaccine in China, vaccine appointments have become increasingly scarce. "Public hospitals are particularly difficult to arrange appointments with, unable to grab numbers, and waiting in line for a long time," Ms. Chi began to turn her attention to private medical institutions.

However, she never expected that after successfully completing two doses of vaccination, the clinic suddenly sent a notice of closure. "What should we, who are waiting for the third dose, do if we cannot continue due to financial issues?" In a state of anxiety, she quickly sought help from the Liberation Daily's Shangguan News.

Sudden changes occur

Ms. Chi remembered that after seeing the "spot HPV vaccine" pushed by Alipay Ali Health in March, she was very excited and carefully selected a package with high scores and moderate prices. After spending 4900 yuan, she successfully chose the nearby Shanghai Yiyong Pediatric Clinic for vaccination.

Ms. Chi purchased a 9-price HPV package online.

"The outpatient service attitude is very good. We will confirm the vaccination time with you one day in advance. You only need to swipe your ID card to get vaccinated there, which is very convenient." Recalling the vaccination process for the first two doses, Ms. Chi was quite satisfied.

Ms. Chi has received 2 doses of the vaccine.

The incident occurred on August 24th. That night, she received a text message from Yiyong Pediatrics stating that the outpatient department was temporarily closed due to business adjustments, and the resumption date would be notified separately. The text message also included the contact phone number of customer service. Ms. Chi, who was about to receive her third dose, suddenly felt a bit flustered, and the phone number given by the clinic could not be connected.

A text message sent from the outpatient department.

Afterwards, Ms. Chi saw that more and more consumers were complaining about this vaccination clinic on social media platforms. Although everyone purchased packages on different platforms, they were facing the same dilemma: the demand for vaccination was urgent, but customer service could not be reached. After all, a total of three doses of the nine valent vaccine for cervical cancer were administered, and the best results were achieved within one year. If the third dose is delayed for more than a year, it will significantly affect the immune response.

On the afternoon of August 29th, the reporter went to the Shanghai Yiyong Pediatric Clinic located at 1766 Beiai Road, Pudong New Area. The 8th floor where the outpatient clinic is located is now a dark place, and although neatly arranged facilities and equipment can still be seen through the glass, the entire office space is empty. The security guard downstairs told reporters that a few days ago, dozens of people came to check the situation every day, "everyone is quite anxious.". On the shelf on the left side of the gate, there is a page of "Notice of Yiyong Pediatric Outpatient Department", which reads, "Due to the impact of the post epidemic environment, the outpatient department is temporarily closed. Our company is actively discussing measures to strive for early follow-up." We have also explained four issues that customers are concerned about, and the signing date is August 26th.

The outpatient department is empty and empty.

The outpatient department issued a notice stating that they will handle the relevant matters properly.

The explanation did not dispel consumer doubts. On the billboard outside the door, there are several QR codes for rights protection groups posted. After scanning the codes, the reporter added a WeChat account called "Quiet Consumer". She told the reporter that the 500 population created by the rights protection group is already full, and there are also consumers joining one after another. Many of them have missed the originally scheduled vaccination time and urgently hope that the matter can be resolved as soon as possible.

When will the measures be implemented?

It is reported that private medical institutions with vaccination qualifications need to apply in advance to the district disease control center for the amount of vaccines they purchase each month, and the disease control department will purchase and distribute them uniformly at the manufacturer. The Pudong New Area Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently publicly replied through the media that this medical institution did not apply for the purchase of the nine price cervical cancer vaccine in mid to late August. "We have noticed the relevant situation and are currently in contact with other institutions with HPV vaccination qualifications to transfer patients who have not yet received the vaccine. At the same time, we are also coordinating refunds." The person in charge of the outpatient department also stated that they have been in urgent communication with the platform to implement refund and referral matters.

Shortly after the news was released, Quiet announced that in the shared document they established to collect specific consumer information, some people have received refunds from platforms such as Pinduoduo and Taobao since the 28th. As of 9:00 pm on the 30th, 298 people have filled in the relevant information, of which 33 have successfully refunded. Many people have expressed that they have communicated with customer service, but have not received any processing results and will continue to wait.

Ms. Chi also contacted the customer service of "Olive Branch Health" who purchased the vaccine. In addition to a refund, the platform also provided a "transfer" plan, but when it can be implemented, the platform said it will take some time. "Compared to refunds, what everyone is more concerned about now is when the third dose can be administered. In case the vaccination is not timely and affects the effect, wouldn't we have to start over?" Ms. Chi hopes that relevant departments can intervene in a timely manner and promote these solutions to be implemented as soon as possible.

Customer service said they need to continue waiting.

In fact, with the increasing difficulty in obtaining a single dose of HPV vaccine, more and more private hospitals are booking vaccination services in advance. These private hospitals are priced much higher than public hospitals, but to some extent, they meet the needs of some people who are willing to exchange high prices for waiting time. However, high prices cannot guarantee the smooth completion of vaccination. On the Black Cat Complaint Platform, there are many complaints about the appointment of the HPV nine valent vaccine, including Rainbow Doctor, Olive Branch Health, Mongoose Little Sister, Yuemiao, Qingyikang, etc. The first two platforms have received 1872 and 1385 related complaints, mainly focusing on paying the full cost of three doses but failing to arrange vaccination, failing to arrange vaccination within the promised period, failing to arrange vaccination but the merchant refuses to refund, falsely promoting sufficient stock without waiting, deducting transaction fees for unvaccinated refunds, delaying follow-up vaccination and no refund after receiving one or two doses, etc.

The insiders suggested that when choosing services related to HPV 9-valent vaccination, citizens should try to make an appointment for vaccination through the channels of Shanghai public hospitals. Specifically, they can make an appointment at the community health service center where they live or on the "Shanghai Disease Control" WeChat official account. There is indeed an urgent need for vaccination, so it is important to be cautious and choose reliable service platforms and vaccination institutions. In addition, local medical regulatory authorities should also strengthen the supervision of medical service institutions, timely supervise medical institutions to fulfill their diagnosis and treatment obligations, and not let consumers wait hard.

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