EU to buy monkeypox vaccine and antivirus from US

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The European Union (EU) has decided to make a general purchase of vaccines and antivirals against monkeypox or monkeypoxa virus that is endemic in Africa and usually rarely appears elsewhere.

“After several meetings it has been decided that we will buy vaccines and antiviral treatments,” Sweden’s vaccine coordinator, Richard Bergstrom, was quoted as saying by the daily newspaper. Today’s news Swedish and translated by ReutersFriday (27/5/2022).

The newspaper report said the EU would buy Imvanex and Tecovirimat from Bavaria Nordic from SIGA Technologies in the United States. However, Bergstrom said that the EU has not signed a contract with either company.

“But it will go quickly. We should have a contract ready in a week or so and maybe some limited deliveries in June,” explained Bergstrom.

For information, Imvanex is a vaccine against smallpox, of which monkeypox is closely related. This vaccine has United States (US) approval for the prevention of smallpox and monkeypox. EU approval is for smallpox, although doctors can prescribe it off-label for monkeypox.

Global health officials have tracked more than 200 suspected and confirmed cases of the usually mild viral infection in 19 countries since early May 2022.

Varian monkeypox involved in the current outbreak have a case fatality rate of around 1%, although so far no deaths have been reported from this smallpox.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]