Geneva, Switzerland:
The WHO announced on Friday that it had prequalified the mpox vaccine for the first time. This is expected to speed up access to vaccines to fight the epidemic raging in Africa.
The announcement came shortly after the first MVA-BN vaccine arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the epicenter of the outbreak.
“Given current and future outbreaks in Africa, this first prequalification of a vaccine against M.P.O.X. is an important step in the fight against this disease,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. ” he said.
“We now need to urgently raise, donate and deploy vaccines to ensure equitable access to vaccines where they are needed most to prevent infections, stop transmission and save lives. We need to expand.”
The WHO prequalification list is used to assess the quality, safety and effectiveness of medical products such as vaccines, paving the way for the United Nations and other international organizations to procure them.
This list is also used in low-income countries that do not have the means to conduct assessments to expedite procurement approvals.
“WHO prequalification of the MVA-BN vaccine will help accelerate the continued procurement of mpox vaccines by governments and international organizations on the front lines of the ongoing emergency in Africa and other regions. ” said Yukiko Nakatani, deputy director of the WHO. Access to medicines and health products.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus that is transmitted from infected animals to humans, but can also be transmitted from human to human through close physical contact.
It causes fever, muscle pain, large boil-like skin lesions, and in some cases, death.
Last month, the WHO declared an international emergency regarding mpox due to concerns that a sharp increase in the number of cases of the new clade 1b strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was spreading to neighboring countries.
DRC has recorded around 22,000 virus-related infections and 716 deaths since January.
So far, about 200,000 doses of vaccines have been delivered to the Democratic Republic of Congo from the European Union, and about 50,000 doses from the United States.
safe and effective
WHO said it conducted the prequalification assessment based on information submitted by Bavarian Nordic A/S, the manufacturer of the MVA-BN vaccine, and a review by the European Medicines Agency.
“The favorable safety profile and performance of the vaccine has been consistently demonstrated not only in clinical studies but also in real-world use.”
According to prequalification, the vaccine can be given in two doses, four weeks apart, to people 18 and older.
Because the majority of M.P.O.X cases and deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are in children, the WHO said the vaccine could be used “off-label” in infants, children and adolescents, as well as pregnant and immunocompromised people. He emphasized that there is.
“This means that the vaccine is recommended for use in epidemic situations where the benefits of vaccination outweigh the potential risks,” WHO said.
The agency also recommends the use of a single dose in epidemic situations where vaccine supplies are limited, but stressed that more data is needed on the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness in such settings. did.
According to the report, currently available data indicate that a single dose of the MVA-BN vaccine before exposure is estimated to be 76% effective in protecting against mpox, while two doses are 82% effective. It is estimated that.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
