Yes, the British had a trial run of the shortages in mid-2009. The world-wide shortages will kick in during March and April of 2010, and last for one year, or two years.
The quotes from the UK above are partly mid-2009, partly early 2010. I view the 2009 shortages in the U.K. as being the trial roll-out for the world shortage that is proclaimed for 2010 and 2011, with the exception that the shortage in the U.K. has so far been minor compared to the shortages that Merck is predicting -- some markets will be cut off entirely.
I believe the conversations above show the level of panic and confusion that might be set off around the world during the next year. And the extent to which Parkies, the ONLY market for the product, are completely absent from the process, not even being able to find basic information about a multi-billion dollar industry that exists only because of them, much less participate or at least be listened to when life-and-death decisions are being made.
Merck gave a cryptic warning to doctors and pharmacists, but not to PWP or their organisations. But the legal and ethical duty of Merck would have been to keep production of the drug going, by any means necessary, until they resolved their "supply problems". Who is the supplier who is cutting Merck out? Why? Was there no contract in place? At the very least, there has been some sort of massive failure of management, and lives and health and peace of mind have been put at risk, and yet there is no reply, no investigation, no complaint, except for some maverick Parkies in Spain.
It's the end of something and the beginning of something else for a lot of people.