In the European Union, the Imvanex vaccine against monkeypox can be used. After the positive opinion of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) last Friday, today the green light from the European Commission has arrived. This was announced by the Danish pharmaceutical group, Bavarian Nordic, which produces the doses. The vaccine had already been authorized in the EU against human smallpox since 2013.
On Saturday the World Health Organization (WHO) chose Saturday to activate the highest level of alert, declaring the global health emergency, worried about the sharp increase in the number of cases. These passed the 16,000 mark at the end of last week, most of them in Europe. “This approval of the monkeypox vaccine is an example of good cooperation between Bavarian Nordic and European regulators, with an extension of work normally taking six to nine months,” the Danish manufacturer said in a statement.
The go-ahead from the Commission is valid in all member countries as well as Iceland Liechtenstein and Norway, the group specifies. The Imvanex vaccine is marketed as Jynneos in the United States, where it has been licensed against monkeypox since 2019. This makes it the only licensed vaccine for preventing the disease. Bavarian Nordic announced a new major order in the US in mid-July, bringing the number of doses ordered in the nation to 7 million. An order for 1.5 million doses from an unidentified European country was also announced last week.