UK: Parents must choose MMR or no protection after 'suspicious' shortage of single vaccine

[Guest guest]

http://www.dailymail.co

uk/health/article-1033320/Parents-choose-MMR-protection-suspicious-shortage-s

ngle-vaccine.html

Parents must choose MMR or no protection after 'suspicious' shortage of

single vaccine

Last updated at 1:03 PM on 08th July 2008

Parents who have opted against the MMR for their toddlers face a nightmare

choice as supplies of the single jab for mumps look set to run dry in weeks.

Tens of thousands of toddlers could go unprotected against the disease as it

emerged that the world's only supplier has halted production of the single

vaccine.

British clinics say their existing stocks are running low and have been told

they will not receive new supplies of the single vaccine Mumpsvax for up to

12 months.

Doctors have voiced concern that the Government may have pressured the sole

producer of the single vaccine to reduce stock as a way of encouraging

uptake of the MMR jab.

Many parents opted to pay up to £400 for single measles, mumps and rubella

jabs after the triple MMR vaccine - provided free on the NHS - was

controversially linked to autism.

It emerged today that the world's only Mumpsvax manufacturer, American

pharmaceutical giant Merck, has mysteriously halted production until at

least 2009.

The firm - which also supplies the UK with the MMR vaccine - has stopped

making the drug twice before, but never for more than three months at a time

For many parents it now means an agonising choice of whether to risk the MMR

jab - or not to inoculate their children at all.

There is widespread suspicion among private clinics that the shortage is due

to a Government policy to force parents to have the MMR.

They suspect Merck could be under pressure from Whitehall to restrict

Mumpsvax supply because it also has separate multi-million pound deal to

supply the NHS with MMR.

Dr Oakley, who runs a private GP clinic in Sutton Coldfield, West

Midlands, said: 'There is pressure on Merck not to supply Mumpsvax to

European markets.

'This pressure is from the government and also from the EU, which are

threatening not to buy Merck's MMR triple vaccine - it's not the only

supplier of it - if the firm continues supplying Mumpsvax.'

Dr Oakley, whose private GP practice supplies the Mumpsvax vaccine, said

halting the drug's import was possible because, unlike measles and rubella,

mumps is not fatal.

'By not allowing Mumpsvax into Britain, the politicians appear to think they

can boost uptake of the MMR, without really affecting the general health of

the nation,' he said.

'Mumps vaccine is unique because its made in America and only by one company

Also, mumps is not lethal, like Measles and Rubella, which can cause deaths

'Certainly the decision to stop exporting it was not made because it's too

expensive to make - Mumpsvax is an ingredient in the triple MMR vaccine,

which the company already sends to the UK.'

The combined jab for measles, mumps and rubella - given to babies for free

from the age of 13 months - was approved in Britain in 1988, despite

concerns about its side effects.

Single vaccines for the diseases remained available free of charge on the

NHS until 1997, when the Government pulled the plug on their licence.

Now single inoculations for measles, mumps and rubella are only available

through a handful of registered providers.

While there is still no conclusive evidence, independent studies appear to

show that the triple jab could be linked with cases of autism and bowel

disease.

Last year 540,000 babies had the MMR - around 83 per cent of the total -

with an estimated 20,000 having single jabs.

While mumps - a viral infection spread by a cough or sneeze - is relatively

harmless in childhood, some babies can contract mumps meningitis and it can

cause sterility and infertility in adults.

The only effective vaccine is made exclusively by Merck, which is also the

world's largest supplier of the MMR triple jab.

It sells the drug to a network of approved suppliers, who in turn sell it to

clinics across the UK, which charge parents up to £130 for each jab.

It is also the Government's sole supplier of MMR, a contract worth millions

of pounds.

Martha , director of Wellcare, a nationwide network of private health

clinics, was told she would not receive new supplies of the Mumpsvax vaccine

until next September.

She believes the government is forcing the MMR jab on parents in a bid to

increase its uptake.

'There is feeling among registered clinics, and of course parents, that the

Government is trying to force people to have the MMR,' she said.

'I find it quite amazing that production can just be stopped like this and

we haven't been told why.

" Everyone is running low on supplies. We will be getting one more load next

week and then that's it.

" This is a political issue as well as an emotive one. The government has not

licensed the single vaccine in this country to offer people a choice, as it

should have done years ago. " Dr Piper, a private GP based in

Leicestershire, slammed " interference " in the supply of vaccinations.

Dr Piper, who has offered single jabs at her clinic for some years, said: " I

think its really appalling that a multi-million pound company has a monopoly

on this vaccine, and has no contractual obligations to ensure the supply.

'I've only found out production has been halted in the last few days and it

s very disruptive.

" The Department of Health does not encourage regular supply of Mumpsvax as

it is not licensed here.

" We have a government that is interventionist in healthcare, and if this

shortage is due to some sort of interference that is very wrong. " Suppliers

of Mumpsvax confirmed the shortage was creating havoc for parents.

Pharmacist Barry Mickle, managing director of the London-based medical

supplier Jolinda, said his company had run out of Mumpsvax a month ago.

He said: " My understanding is the Merck is not manufacturing Mumpsvax at the

moment until 2009, so it could be a year before UK clinics will have any. "

Alister Monro (doub-corr), the managing director of the Breakspear allergy

hospital in Hertfordshire, said he has been inundated with requests from

worried parents about single jabs.

The hospital, which immunises around 250 children per month with single jabs

said the politicians were afraid to licence single vaccines as this would

suggest the MMR is dangerous.

Mr Monro said: " The Government doesn't want to licence single vaccines

because this could imply there is something wrong with the MMR, because that

would cause an outcry, when in fact the risk is very small.

" We've had a lot of calls from parents who have tried elsewhere to have the

single jabs and been turned away. I would say there's been a 10 per cent

rise in appointments. " Dr Halvorsen, who runs the Babyjabs clinic

in Harley Street, London, and the author of 'The Truth about Vaccines', said

he would not recommend the MMR to parents.

Dr Halvorsen added: " Luckily I still have stocks of Mumpsvax, but when

shortages have happened before, I have told parents that measles is the most

important vaccine, and just to wait until Mumpsvax is available again.

" I would not recommend parents give their children the MMR instead.

" I find it very puzzling that Merck must be producing Mumpsvax as a

component of the MMR, but that it can't produce any more of it for the

single vaccinations. " Yesterday, Merck refused to comment about the

shortage of Mumpsvax in the UK and defended the safety of MMR.

A spokesman said: " " MMR contains the same mumps antigen contained in

Mumpsvax and also provides the measles and rubella components.

" MMR has been administered to millions of infants worldwide - over 500

million doses distributed to date - and has a well established safety and

efficacy profile. " The Department of Health said there was " no truth "

behind suggestions that it was restricting the supply of mumps jabs.

A spokesman said: " Lets be very clear, there is simply no truth in the

suggestion that the Government has put pressure on Merck to suspend

production of Mumpvax. "