Chickenpox vaccine shortage puts parents in UAE in a fix

Dubai: Parents seeking to vaccinate their children against chickenpox, an infectious disease that can cause death in rare cases, have not been able to do so as the UAE suffers from a shortage of the vaccine.

Hospitals and clinics in the private sector could not provide children with the vaccine Varilrix, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for more than a month.

Government healthcare centres have the vaccine in stock, but will only make the vaccine available for high-risk patients, such as those with a lower immune system from illness or surgery.

Safdar Zaman complained in an email to Gulf News that she could not vaccinate her one-year old daughter.

Dr Ottmar Schmidt, director of marketing and public relations at Welcare World Health Systems, told Gulf News Welcare Hospital has had to turn away parents who wanted the vaccine. "There is a shortage of the chickenpox vaccine because the supplier has not been able to deliver it," he said.

He said requests from the chickenpox vaccine were common throughout the year, but added demand for the vaccine was high presently due to an outbreak of chickenpox in labour camps.

Gulf News reported on June 6 that chickenpox was spreading among labourers in their accommodations in Sharjah. Workers complained infected colleagues were not kept completely isolated from others.

Chickenpox is the most common infectious disease in the UAE. According to latest figures from the Department of Health and Medical Services (Dohms), Dubai reported 3,472 cases in 2006, comprising 61.4 per cent of all infectious diseases in the emirate.

Aly Ziwar, medical and regulatory director for GSK, told Gulf News via email that the shortage was due to increased demand.

"The cause of this shortage is the increased demand for Varilrix this year more than previous years ... due to the unexpected increase in number of chicken pox cases," he said.

He added parents were also more aware of the disease, causing more to seek vaccination for their children. He also promised the shortage would be resolved soon, saying the vaccine would be available in early July. However, some parents said the vaccine should always be in stock.

A parent, who asked to be identified as Lena, said she was "very concerned" that the vaccine was not available.

"For parents who have more than one child, if one of them got sick the others would get sick. And their friends would get sick. And my pregnant friends would panic," she said.

All you need to know about chickenpox

Chickenpox is caused by the varicella zoster virus. It is airborne and is spread through coughing or sneezing and direct contact.

Usually affecting children, teenagers and adults are also vulnerable. At its most severe, the disease can cause bacterial infection of the skin, swelling of the brain and pneumonia, mostly affecting adults and teenagers.

The Centres for Disease Control (CDC) in the US recommends two doses of the vaccine for children, adolescents and adults to ensure it is most effective. Each dose costs Dh170 in the UAE.

Do you know anyone who has been impacted by the shortage of the vaccine in the market? Should it be a part of the national healthcare plan? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form bellow to send your comments.

Thanks for highlighting the issue. I am father of three. Two of my children got infected with chickpox. The vaccination is not available in UAE as per my family doctor. I am looking for it to have my third child vaccinated .
Syed
dubai,UAE
Posted: June 24, 2008, 14:02

I have been checking with almost all private hospital in Dubai and Sharjah for chicken pox vaccination for my kid as a precaution measure. whenever, i checked i got the same reply that it is out of stock. Beceause of this we are not going out for malls, park, beach etc. in our week ends also.Government should interfere in this isue and in future the it shall be a part of national health care programme and it should be made available in government hospitals.
kadar
Dubai,U.A.E.
Posted: June 24, 2008, 12:38

Finally the issue has been brought into limelight by gulfnews. Well I've visited almost all hospitals with my wife in search of this vaccine, for our son Steve who is just over a year and half but with no success. He got infected by chicken pox which severely affected his health. I would like to see this vaccine made available soon so that aleast other babies and thier parents don't go through the same suffering as we went through. Definitely it have to be part of the national healthcare plan atleast for the babies as part of the immunization programme.
Binu
Abu Dhabi,U.A.E
Posted: June 24, 2008, 08:17

I have been waiting for the chicken pox vaccine for a month now, I've been calling different hospitals if when it will be available but they don't have any idea when it will be available. I've been worried because so many friends are infected by chicken pox now a days. I have 2 small children and I hope it will be available soon.
anonymous
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: June 24, 2008, 08:12

Since I am a father of two siblings, I was very much concerned about the shortage, but luckily i found the one in Al Ahliya hospital. As it is very common in UAE yes it should be part of National Health care plan.
Mohammad
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: June 24, 2008, 08:10