Monkeypox: no more vaccines

The European Commission announced on Wednesday September 7 the purchase of 170,920 additional doses of the monkeypox vaccine from the Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic, for delivery “by the end of the year”, bringing to some 334 540 the number of doses purchased by the EU, says AFP. “Vaccines already procured will continue to be delivered over the coming weeks and months to Member States, as well as Norway and Iceland,” a set of countries where 18,463 cases of monkeypox had been reported. registered on September 1, said the European executive in a press release. To these vaccines purchased and distributed by the EU, via its agency in charge of health emergencies Hera, are added the doses ordered directly by the Member States. “The number of cases has fallen in the EU in recent weeks, but the threat has not passed, and we cannot let our guard down,” said Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, promising that Brussels “will provide Member States with all the support they need”. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) dashboard which lists all confirmed cases, as of August 31 there were 50,496 cases and 16 deaths recorded in 101 countries and territories. The WHO triggered its highest level of alert on July 24 in an attempt to prevent the epidemic from escalating even further and taking hold.