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US releases 786,000 additional doses of monkeypox vaccine


The US will provide 786,000 additional doses of monkeypox vaccine to local health departments “as soon as possible” after the Food and Drug Administration approves the shots for distribution, health officials said. the nation’s top said on Wednesday.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said the federal government would announce further allocations of the two-dose vaccine, known as Jynneos, to local health departments on Thursday. The US campaign to vaccinate against monkeypox has hit a major hit as demand for the vaccine outstrips supply, leading to long lines of clinics and protests in several cities. .

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 3,500 cases of monkeypox have been reported across 46 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico. The US has the second highest number of monkeypox cases in the world after Spain.

The Jynneos vaccine is manufactured by the Danish biotechnology company Bavarian Nordic. The FDA had to inspect and contract with a Bavarian Nordic factory in Denmark to make sure the injections were up to quality standards. The dosage was shipped to the US during an FDA review this month and can now be distributed to local authorities for use.

House Democrats, in a letter to the White House last week, criticized the speed of FDA inspections and called on President Joe Biden to use his executive power to speed up delivery. row. The FDA began inspecting the facility in early July, two months after a global outbreak of monkeypox.

“It’s not clear why the FDA delayed stockpiling checks needed for biodefense, and this omission has wasted valuable time in the US response to monkeypox. and Jerrold Nadler, both All in New York, wrote in a letter signed by 48 other members of Congress.

The FDA’s top vaccine official, Dr. Peter Marks, told reporters on a call earlier this month that the FDA and HHS worked to expedite the approval of the Bavarian Nordic facility shortly after the case. Monkeypox was first confirmed in the US. in the fall, says Marks.

House Democrats also called on the Biden administration to declare a public health emergency and work with Congress to secure additional funding to respond to the outbreak.

The US has shipped more than 300,000 doses of Jynneos to local and state health authorities since May, according to the Biden administration. HHS has also secured an additional 5 million doses for the US that will ship through mid-2023.

The FDA approved the Jynneos vaccine in 2019 for people 18 years of age and older who are at high risk for exposure to monkeypox or smallpox. These viruses belong to the same family, although monkeypox causes a milder illness. According to the CDC, there is no data on how effectively the vaccine will prevent disease during the current outbreak.

Monkeypox is mainly spread through close physical contact during sex, and men who have sex with men are most at risk today. About 99% of monkeypox patients in the US are male, and 98% of the 309 patients who provided the demographic information identified as having sex with men, according to the CDC.

According to the CDC, the Jynneos vaccine should be started within 4 days of exposure to monkeypox for the best chance of preventing disease onset. Two doses are given 28 days apart. According to the CDC, if vaccines are given 4 to 14 days after exposure, the shots may not prevent illness but may reduce symptoms.

The CDC recommends vaccinating people with confirmed or presumed exposure to monkeypox, as well as those at high risk of infection. The United States also has more than 100 million doses of an older generation smallpox vaccine called ACAM2000 that effectively prevents monkeypox, but ACAM2000 can have serious side effects. It is not recommended for people with weakened immune systems such as HIV-positive people, pregnant women, and people with eczema and similar skin conditions.



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