Letter to the CDC

December 30, 2008

Julie L. Gerberding, Director,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Rd
Atlanta, GA  30333

Dear Ms. Gerberding,

I am enclosing a copy of the letter sent to Richard Clark, CEO of Merck regarding their recent decision to halt sales and production of their monovalent measles and mumps vaccines. I realize that it is not your duty to decide how vaccines are produced, but in order to achieve the goals you have set for eliminating diseases, you should be deeply concerned that a large portion of the population will not use vaccines such as the MMR that are produced with aborted fetal cell lines.

In previous correspondence with your office, you stated that, “the CDC is responsible for ensuring that the US population is adequately vaccinated with safe and effective vaccines.”  If Merck pulls the separate doses of Attenuvax and Mumpsvax from production, you can be assured that there will be continued outbreaks of both measles and mumps.

Many parents have written to us expressing their outrage as they have been waiting since last summer to obtain the separate doses.  Merck promised to have them by October, then January 2009, then Spring 2009 – and now – never?

Ms. Gerberding, I know this situation must trouble you greatly, and so I am asking you to please use your influence to encourage Merck to make these vaccines available. Please see the enclosed letter and thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide.

Sincerely,

Debra L. Vinnedge

Executive Director