Danish Monkeypox Vaccine Gets Go-Ahead From European Commission

Bavarian Nordic, a Danish biotechnology company, has received the green light from the European Commission for its Imvanex vaccine to be used against the ongoing global monkeypox outbreak. 

The approval is indeed timely, considering the World Health Organization (WHO) had just issued a high-level alert categorizing the disease as a “global health emergency” earlier this week. 

Currently, there have been 3,040 reported cases of the virus across 47 countries, with the WHO assessing that there is a clear risk of further international spread, already upping the risk level to “high” on the European continent. 

According to Reuters, this vaccine is the only one to have gained approval for preventing monkeypox in the US and Canada, and has also been allowed to treat smallpox within the European Union (EU). 

“The availability of an approved vaccine can significantly improve nations’ readiness to fight emerging diseases, but only through investments and structured planning of the biological preparedness,” said Paul Chaplin, President and CEO of Bavarian Nordic.

“With this approval, we look forward to working closer with the EU and its member states to solve this important task,” he added. 

[via Reuters and Bavarian Nordic, cover image via Cristian Storto | Dreamstime.com]