China-Made COVID-19 Vaccines May Contribute to Leukemia, Say Families of Chinese Diagnosed With Illness

By Frank Yue

A growing number of Chinese citizens report they have been diagnosed with leukemia after receiving domestic COVID vaccines. However, they say the authorities deem their claims to be a threat to social order, and are not providing  answers to their queries.

Wang Jun (a pseudonym), a resident of Hujia Township, Panjin City, Liaoning Province, told The Epoch Times on May 31 that his wife was diagnosed with acute leukemia after receiving two Sinovac vaccinations.

“She took her first shot at our town on May 14 last year,” Wang said, “a Beijing-based Sinovac product. Then the second one on June 4.”

Four days later, she developed a persistent headache that occurred daily and was resistant to pain killers. It took until Sept. 22 for doctors to conclude, from her extremely low level of platelets, that she had leukemia.

Previously, his wife was healthy, with no history of exposure to toxic substances or blood transfusions, according to Wang. Their family had no history of leukemia either.

The interviewee said that one of his former colleagues developed the same disease, and that there were reportedly six cases of leukemia in their city alone last year.

Ms. Lin, mother of a 14-year-old girl who lives in Loudi city, Hunan Province, told The Epoch Times that her daughter was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia in November 2021, two months after receiving her second Sinovac shot.

“I believe my child’s disease [leukemia] has something to do the shots,” said the mother. “My daughter had had an operation because of congenital heart disease. Before taking the shots, I consulted the [local] CDC, asking if she was qualified to receive COVID vaccines, and they said ‘Yes.’”

A male surnamed Yang, from the city of Jincheng, in Shanxi Province, said he was confirmed to have acute myeloblastic leukemia M2a in April 2022, and had symptoms of severe anemia and limb weakness. He was inoculated with Sinovac vaccine in July 2021 and developed a large patch of petechiae on his body one month later.

Heavy Financial Burden

According to Wang, his family has spent over 200,000 yuan (about $30,000) over eight months for the treatment of his wife’s disease, which he says is a heavy blow to the family.

Lin told The Epoch Times that her daughter’s five courses of chemotherapy cost her more than 500,000 yuan (about $75,072). She said she had to mortgage their house to meet the medical costs.

In China, patients must pay for most of the medical treatments because the general medical insurance covers a limited number of items that have been pre-approved by authorities, and excludes a large number of imported drugs that are more expensive but more effective, and usually have fewer side effects.

Questionable Official Response

Notably, a top Chinese CDC expert gave a vague response to a question about post-vaccination leukemia at a top anti-COVID conference hosted by the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council on May 27.

When asked about the issue, chief expert on immunization planning at China’s CDC, Wang Huaqing, did not confirm or deny the possibility of a connection between COVID vaccines and the subsequent development of leukemia. Nor did he cite any comparative studies indicating a change in the number of leukemia cases pre-pandemic and during the pandemic.

Instead, he emphasized compliance with reporting procedures and relying on a reasonable basis for assessing results.

No Authority Takes Responsibility

Wang complained that when it comes to a medical assessment regarding his wife’s leukemia, the different authorities chose to shift responsibility elsewhere.

“Our complaint stayed in our town even one month after we submitted it,” Wang said. “They [local town officials] said they couldn’t report our case to a higher level, which they deem as indirectly demonstrating they have recognized that COVID shots led to leukemia.”

Even worse, local officials would not provide him with any proof of vaccination.

Wang contacted the local health commission, the vaccine maker, and the CDC, but officials or experts found a variety of excuses to delay their response or refuse to provide an official paper or sign their name on any document.

Wang is still looking for a resolution of his queries from the authorities.

Open Letter Calling for Help Censored

Early in May, an open letter was circulated online calling for attention to the community of those diagnosed with leukemia. However, the original text was heavily censored on the Chinese internet, with WeChat showing a message that the content cannot be shown “on suspicion of violating relevant laws, regulations, and policies.”

The letter said, “We have voluntarily collected information on 1,000 plus cases, including vaccine takers, time and location of vaccination, pre-vaccination health status, post-vaccination symptoms, type of leukemia, and courses of treatment. These detailed data and information are of certain statistical significance.”

Additionally, the letter expressed distrust in the assessment from the CDC-approved experts, which show, without exception, what they call a “coincidental” link between receiving COVID shots and developing leukemia.

“A mere theory of ‘coincidental link’ cannot justify the occurrence of more than 1,000 [leukemia] cases among us,” the letter stated in refuting the official explanation.

Victims are also angry that the authorities treat them rudely and deem them to be a threat to social stability and targets for suppression, citing a document allegedly leaked from the National Health Commission.

The official document suggests that the top medical authority had recognized the leukemia patients before March 2022. It includes a list of their names, which was given to its branches in each province to monitor their whereabouts in the name of “maintaining social stability.”

Victims and their families tried contacting domestic reporters and lawyers, but none promised to provide help for them, according to the letter.

The open letter warned of a potential crisis, as confirmed cases could surface endlessly as long as vaccinations continue and society remains ignorant of the presence of a potential consequence.

There is no official study linking receipt of a COVID vaccine and a subsequent diagnosis of leukemia.

Finally, the letter urged the leading domestic vaccine maker, Sinovac Biotech, to offer humanitarian funds to help victims and  asked the Chinese regime to not see them as “enemies” anymore.

China’s National Health Commission could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts by press time. Nor did Sinovac Biotech agree to accept a request for an interview.