Vaccination

European Commission Approves Monkeypox Vaccine

JUL 25 2022·Updated JUL 27 2022

Story

Image credit: Reuters [via Al Jazeera]

The Facts

On Mon., the European Commission approved the Danish company Bavarian Nordic's smallpox vaccine for use against monkeypox.
Al Jazeera
Already approved for use against monkeypox in the US and Canada, the vaccine Imvanex can now be marketed in all 27 EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
Forbes
The Commission's approval came after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) offered a positive assessment for monkeypox use last week. Imvanex was originally approved for use against smallpox in 2013.
Al Jazeera
The company says it's capable of producing 30M vaccine doses per year and so far hasn't denied any orders from governments, adding that increased work hours will allow them to increase their production.
Time
Bavarian's share price has risen more than 150% since the outbreak, with some estimating the company could allocate 50% of its capacity toward producing the vaccine, allowing them to charge on average $100 per dose.
Time
On Sunday, WHO declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency. WHO reported 5 known deaths to date, all in Africa, and stated that most cases are among men who've had sex with men.
WHO

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

Governments worldwide have dropped the ball regarding this outbreak. Countries like the US, where vaccines were already available, have allowed monkeypox patients to go weeks without a diagnosis or treatment, which is why we've seen growing cases and even deaths among vulnerable populations.

guardian

Narrative B

While vaccine approval is good news, most people can naturally recover from monkeypox and don't face significant life-threatening risks from contracting the virus. For the time being, at least, we should be focused on distributing the shot to those who are immunocompromised and most vulnerable.

The New Republic