Letter to Ms. Walmsley - Take Action to Alleviate Shortage of Its Shingles Vaccine
Letter
Dear Ms. Walmsley,
Following concerning reports indicating that U.S. health care providers have been unable to obtain necessary quantities of the shingles vaccine recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we write to urge GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to take every necessary action to alleviate the shortage.
In the United States, there are an estimated one million cases of shingles each year and approximately one in three people will develop the condition at some point in their lifetime. As you know, shingles can cause a painful rash and has become more prevalent in recent decades.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all healthy adults over the age of 50 receive a vaccine for this common disease, as vaccination is the only way for patients to protect against shingles and its complications. Specifically, the CDC recommends GSK's Shingrix vaccine--which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved in October of 2017--as it provides more effective and longer lasting protection than the previously recommended vaccine.
Yet recent reports indicate that health care providers across the country are having significant difficulty obtaining necessary quantities of Shingrix and are experiencing shipping delays for their orders. While we appreciate that there is high demand for this product, we are concerned that GSK did not appear to prepare contingency plans to ensure that sufficient supplies would be available for all patients who fall within the CDC's recommended guidelines. This shortage is particularly concerning because the vaccine consists of two doses administered two to six months apart. As a result, some patients may be unable to complete the full Shingrix regimen within the recommended timeframe.
We urge you to examine what more GSK can do to end the shortage as quickly as possible and to develop a comprehensive plan for maintaining adequate production and distribution of Shingrix moving forward. In addition, please provide our offices with a written response that details the specific timeframes in which you expect to lift current limits on orders of Shingrix and to resolve shipping delays across the country.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this important issue.
Sincerely,
Source