Merck Denies Withholding Vaccines

Merck & Co has denied an accusation by US Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala that it is withholding its vaccines from the Vaccine for Children program.

The Associated Press reported that Ms Shalala rebuked the company as the sole holdout on contracts to sell vaccines to the government at special prices for needy children.

Merck is the only supplier of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines and a high-risk Hemophilus influenzae vaccine; the other manufacturers involved in the program have already signed their contracts. SmithKline Beecham said the contracts were just about the same as those the companies have been signing in the past to supply vaccine to public clinics.