One epidemic chases (for the moment) another. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued its highest level of alert. At the end of July, the UN body decreed that the monkeypox epidemic was a public health emergency of international concern. The transmission of the virus is particularly important in Europe and currently concerns the very majority of the gay population.
Cases are increasing in France and the first deaths have been recorded on the continent. Contamination occurs through contact with lesions on the skin or mucous membranes, as well as through droplets. It is not strictly speaking a sexually transmitted disease, but sexual intercourse meets the conditions for the spread of the virus.
Fortunately, unlike Covid-19, the vaccine already exists. It is a vaccine against human smallpox, but effective against that of monkeys. The vaccination campaign began on July 11 and concerns homosexuals and trans people with multiple partners, sex workers and professionals in places of sexual consumption. It is estimated that at least 250,000 individuals are the priority population for this vaccination campaign.
Opacity
As of August 2, only 14,000 people had received a dose. Many associations regret a far too slow pace and plead for an express campaign to stem its spread, especially among immunocompromised people, who are most at risk of developing serious forms.
No information is available on the stock of vaccines. The latter is classified as a defense secret, because it is a protection tool in the event of a bioterrorist attack.
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If the vaccination centers open, many testimonies report difficulties in finding an appointment. If there is a need for more arms among health professionals to inject the vaccine, it is above all the doses that are lacking. The government says it has delivered 37 000 to centers as of August 2but wants to be reassuring and repeats that he has sufficient doses « to vaccinate the entire target population ».
However, no information is available on the stock of vaccines. The latter is classified as a defense secret, as it is a protection tool in the event of a bioterrorist attack. Requests from parliamentarians and associations to communicate exceptionally on the state of stocks have remained unanswered, thus reducing confidence in the executive on the stock.
“To the usual opacity of the drug chain is added that of the defense secret, regrets Jérôme Martin, co-founder of the Observatory of transparency in drug policies. The argument of the application of defense secrecy can be understood, but one of the objectives of these stocks is to avoid an epidemic in the event of a bioterrorist attack, but here we do have an epidemic but without attack. »
In the event of a lack of doses, all eyes logically turn to the sole producer: the Danish Bavarian Nordic. The latter chained orders, including 7 million for the United States alone and at least 1.5 million from a European country, but whose name was not disclosed.
As with the Covid, the same questions remain: who will be served first at what price? With a risk that some poor countries, where the disease has been circulating for decades – especially in Africa – will be deprived of it.
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