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May 12, 2003

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

“Jab Shortage Sparks Fears”

Newcastle Evening Chronicle (UK) (icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk) (05/10/03) P. 9

The company providing the mumps vaccine to the Direct Health 2000 clinic in Darlington, U.K., is running out of stock, and people fear that the shortage could make the mumps outbreak in the region worse. Over 1,000 children in the area were signed up by their parents for separate measles, rubella, and mumps vaccinations, and while the children have already received their measles and rubella shots, the mumps shot keeps getting put off, and the parents have now been told that it could be up to six months before the children can be vaccinated. Direct Health managing director Sarah Dean says there is a global shortage of the mumps vaccine, and that the latest batch ordered was cancelled because the German manufacturer had lab problems. Dean adds that drug laws restrict imports to 25 doses of the vaccine per day.

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