Mpox vaccine approved: World Health Organization announces

The mpox virus, commonly known as monkeypox, for which the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global public health emergency, continues to spread. The WHO has approved the first vaccine to receive prequalification against the mpox virus, which has also caused global panic.

The WHO reported that the MVA-BN vaccine is the first to be added to the prequalification list.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke about the approval of the vaccine as follows:

'This first prequalification of a vaccine against mpox is an important step in our fight against the disease, both in the context of the current outbreaks in Africa, and in future. We now need urgent scale-up in procurement, donations and rollout to ensure equitable access to the vaccines where they are needed most, alongside other public health tools, to prevent infections, stop transmission and save lives.'

WHAT ARE THE FEATURES OF THE VACCINE?

The vaccine, which can be stored for up to 8 weeks at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius after being kept in cold storage, can be administered to individuals over 18 years of age in 2 doses, 4 weeks apart. While the WHO recommends that the vaccine can be used as a single dose in outbreak situations where supply is limited, according to current data, a single dose of the MVA-BN vaccine administered before exposure provides 76 percent protection against mpox. After the two-dose regimen, the vaccine's efficacy reaches 82 percent.

Following an increase in mpox cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the mpox virus was declared a 'public health emergency of international concern' by the WHO. Since the outbreak began in 2022, more than 103 thousand cases of the mpox virus have been confirmed in at least 120 countries. In 2024 alone, 25 thousand 237 suspected and confirmed cases were detected, and 723 deaths were recorded in 14 different countries.