European Union okays smallpox vaccine against monkey pox
The executive body of the European Union has approved a smallpox vaccine following the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a worldwide health emergency, the Danish drugmaker that developed the jab said.
“The European Commission has extended the authorization for the placing on the market of the company’s smallpox vaccine, Imvanex, to include protection against smallpox”, in accordance with an EU recommendation medicines watchdog, Bavarian Nordic said in a statement on Monday.
“The approval… is valid in all EU Member States and also in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.”
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) undertakes a scientific evaluation of medicinal products and makes a recommendation on the marketing of any medicinal product.
However, under EU law, the EMA is not entitled to authorize marketing in the various bloc countries. The European Commission is the authorized body and makes a legally binding decision on the basis of the EMA recommendation.
The Bavarian share price has increased by 122% in the last three months due to the strong demand for the monkey smallpox vaccine.
Paul Chaplin, the CEO, said the availability of an approved vaccine “can greatly improve countries’ preparedness” for the fight against emerging diseases but only through investment and structured planning in biological preparation. ‘
On Saturday, WHO said that the monkey pox epidemic, which affected around 16,000 people in 75 countries, was a “public health emergency of international interest” – the highest alarm the United Nations’ health agency can sound.
Imvanex has been approved by the European Union since 2013 to prevent smallpox.
It was also considered a potential vaccine for monkey pox due to the similarity between the smallpox virus and the monkeypox virus.
The first symptoms of monkey smallpox are fever, headache, and muscle and back pain for 5 days.
Rashes then appear on the face, palms, and soles of the feet, followed by lesions, patches, and eventually scabs.
An outbreak of monkey smallpox infections has been reported since early May outside of West and Central African countries where the disease has been endemic for a long time.