May 27 (Reuters) – As more countries where monkeypox is not endemic report outbreaks of the viral disease, some governments have started offering vaccines to most exposed citizens.
There isn’t a specific vaccine for monkeypox, but data shows that vaccines that were used to eradicate smallpox are up to 85% effective against it, according to the World Health Organisation.
Below is a list of countries that have so far started to offer a vaccine or are stockpiling it, in alphabetical order:
EUROPE
* The European Union has agreed on common purchasing of vaccine against monkeypox, Sweden’s vaccine coordinator said on May 27 quoted by Dagens Nyheter. The paper said the EU would buy Bavarian Nordic’s BAVA.CO Imvanex and Tecovirimat from Siga Technologies SIGA.O in the United States, though it had not yet signed a contract with either firm.
* Britain said on May 26 it had procured more than 20,000 doses of a vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic. It had on May 20 offered a smallpox vaccine to some healthcare workers and others who may have been exposed.
* Denmark said on May 25 it would receive 200 monkeypox vaccines from the Netherlands and was working on buying thousands more, as the country mulls vaccinating close contacts of those infected.
* France on May 25 recommended that health staff and at-risk adults who have been exposed to a monkeypox patient should be vaccinated.
* Germany on May 24 ordered 40,000 doses of Imvanex to be ready to carry out ring vaccinations if the outbreak in the country becomes more severe.
* Spain on May 25 said it would purchase Imvanex vaccine, but did not specify the number of doses.
NORTH AMERICA
* Canada said on May 25 it had started pre-positioning the Imvamune vaccine from its national emergency stockpile across the country, with a small shipment of the vaccine sent to Quebec on May 23.
* The United States on May 23 said it was in the process of releasing some Jynneos vaccine, made by Bavarian Nordic, for use in monkeypox cases. U.S. officials said there were more than 1,000 doses of the vaccine in the national stockpile and they expected that level to ramp up very quickly in the coming weeks.
(Compiled by Mariana Ferreira Azevedo and Luca Fratangelo in GdanskEditing by Milla Nissi and Bernadette Baum)
