The maker of the only licensed monkeypox vaccine, Danish laboratory Bavarian Nordic, announced on Thursday an order for up to two million doses over two years with the European Union’s health preparedness authority.
The contract, the amount of which has not been disclosed, is valid for 2023 and 2024, allows member countries of the European Union, but also of the European Economic Area and the Balkans to purchase the vaccine, Bavarian Nordic specifies in a statement.
The laboratory claims to have received a preliminary level of orders of 700,000 doses by 2023 from 14 affected countries, through the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (Hera), created as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Maximum health alert maintained
Since June 2022, and the unprecedented occurrence of a large number of monkeypox cases in Europe and around the world, Hera has already purchased 330,000 doses, specifies Bavarian Nordic.
Despite the fact that the epidemic is in full decline, the WHO Emergency Committee decided on November 1 to maintain the maximum health alert for monkeypox, declared on July 23.
The disease (which is endemic in some West African countries) is characterized by rashes, which may appear on the genitals or in the mouth, and may be accompanied by bouts of fever, sore throat, or tender lymph nodes.
In most cases, those affected so far have been relatively young men who have sex with men.
Source: BFM TV
