It Looked As Though Millions Of Babies Would Miss Out On A Lifesaving Vaccine
Last fall, Merck said it would stop selling its rotavirus vaccine to west Africa and redirect its supply to China at a higher price. After NPR broke the story, the situation changed — for the good.
Imagine for a minute: A company makes a vaccine that protects kids from a life-threatening disease but, with little warning, decides to stop selling it in the U.S.
That's exactly what happened last year in West Africa, for a vaccine against rotavirus — a disease that kills about 200,000 young children and babies each year.
As NPR in November, the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc. announced it was ending a long-term agreement to supply its rotavirus vaccine, Rotateq, at a reduced price to families in four West African countries. At the same time, the company begun selling the vaccine the price.
