Two cases of mumps have been reported at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.  The Maine Coalition for Vaccine Choice has notified all parties publicly involved of the US v. Merck case, and its potential impact on this outbreak, including Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Trinity College, Tufts University, Wesleyan University, and Williams College.

Dr. Pezzullo, Mr. Rose,  Mr. Foster, Mr. Maher, Ms. Spencer, Mr. Green, Ms. Bergeron, Mr. Wippman, Ms. Patton, Mr, Monaco, Mr. Roth, Mr. Falk, Mid Coast Hospital, The Mid Coast Walk-In Clinic, Times Record, and Portland Press Herald,

Today I read the notice in the Bowdoin Orient that there is an outbreak of mumps at Bowdoin College.  It was evident from the article that the school has not been notified of the high potential for mumps vaccine failure.

Merck, the maker of the only mumps vaccine in the US, is currently defending itself in federal court against accusations by its own scientists that the company submitted fraudulent efficacy data on the mumps component of the MMR II to gain FDA re-approval in 2000.  Merck is currently stonewalling the court and refuses to hand over their research.

The Maine Coalition for Vaccine Choice began to notify the Maine Department of Health and Human Services about this potential fraud on the people of Maine in 2013, and submitted recommendations to them on how to proceed in the best interest of Mainers.  The former director of the Maine CDC responded in 2015 that they were aware of the matter, but has taken no action that we can see to adjust their approach to the disease accordingly.

I am submitting to The Maine CDC, Bowdoin College, NESCAC Member Colleges, the Brunswick School Department, The Mid Coast Walk-In Clinic, Mid Coast Hospital, the Portland Press Herald and the Times Record, the information that our organization has issued on the matter, and encourage all parties to take seriously the probability that the MMR vaccine that is being recommended to combat outbreaks is a product of fraud, as is evident that in the Harvard outbreak, “40 students were infected in a mumps outbreak at Harvard University. All of those students had been immunized.”

Statement on the Mumps outbreak in Maine:

June 5, 2015
The Maine Coalition for Vaccine Choice reminds the public that Merck, maker of the country’s only Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine, is currently in federal court being sued by its own scientists who claim that the company submitted fraudulent efficacy data to the FDA in 2000 to gain re-approval for the MMR II, and the vaccine may be largely ineffective against the circulating mumps virus.

Our organization has notified the Maine CDC in person and in writing over the last two years of this potential fraud, and that those born since at least 2000 may be highly vulnerable to the disease, while believing that they are immunized.   We have encouraged Maine CDC to make a plan for potential outbreaks in light of this matter.  Those communications, and the response of Kenneth Albert of the CDC, can be read here:

MCVC Notifies Maine CDC on the Merck Mumps False Claims Act Lawsuit

The Maine Coalition for Vaccine Choice is available to assist your organizations in anyway we can to help protect the health of those in your charge.

Sincerely,