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http://www.news-journalonline.com/2002/Jun/13/OPN2.htm

Childhood diseases: Nation awaits long-term solution to scarcity of vaccines

News-Journal editorial
 

Parents can relax about the safety of the vaccine used to prevent measles, mumps and rubella, says an international panel of health groups. Although further study is recommended, reviews of 50 years of research show no evidence of a connection between the vaccine and ailments such as autism or bowel disorders.

However, there is greater reason to worry. The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is in dangerously low supply, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Serious shortages are also reported for vaccines that prevent some forms of flu, meningitis, chicken pox, pneumonia, and diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. The availability of booster shots for tetanus and diphtheria will also be affected.

This is the second year of a nationwide scarcity of vaccines, which is expected to continue through the end of this year. U.S. senators on Wednesday conducted a hearing to discuss why and what steps government can take.

Some action is essential, but there is no reason to panic. State and national health-care authorities believe that the shortages are short term. Florida health officials are recommending that doctors follow CDC guidelines, which is to delay booster shots as well as some multi-dose shots for babies and young children.

Some children may not receive vaccines required for entering school in the fall.

There are several causes for the shortages, but most are connected to the low profitability of vaccines. Because the return on the dollar is low, the number of vaccine manufacturers for preventable childhood diseases has decreased from about two dozen in the 1960s to four today (two in the United States and two in Europe).

With fewer makers, delays in manufacturing have had an immediate effect on supplies. Vaccines, which are tricky to make because they are grown from live organisms, take about a year to move from the lab to the market.

And demands for the vaccines have increased because states have -- in tune with good public-health policy -- required more vaccinations.

The Senate hearing should help solidify a long-term remedy to the supply problem. Low-cost vaccines have made America's children healthier and are improving the health of children in impoverished countries. Higher-priced vaccines would also make it prohibitive for states to continue to subsidize inoculations. (Florida, for example, spent between $43 million and $44 million last year on immunizations.)

Cures suggested to the Senate include the federal government stockpiling vaccines; creating a national authority to monitor the development of vaccines; providing economic incentives to make the drugs; requiring U.S. manufacturers to notify the government before stopping production of a vaccine. The answer may be in some combination of those proposals. The wrong solution is for government to do nothing and risk a big price increase -- or worse, an increase in diseases that have nearly been wiped out.

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ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.