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June 3, 2002
INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS
"Gates Donates to Combat Hepatitis B"
Associated Press (www.ap.org) (06/02/02)
China is to receive a $37.5 million donation from Bill Gates' Vaccine Fund to combat hepatitis B in a five-year campaign targeting 35 million infants. A portion of the funds, which will also include a contribution of $37.5 million from the Chinese government, will go toward the purchase 500 million self-disabling syringes for vaccine injection to reduce the possibility of infection from dirty needles, the leading cause of hepatitis B in China. According to the Vaccine Fund's James Jones, Chinese officials estimate that over 700 million people in China are infected with hepatitis B.
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