The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Friday it had approved the use of a smallpox vaccine to expand its use against the spread of monkeypox.
“The EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended expanding the indication for Imvanex smallpox vaccine to include protection of adults against monkeypox,” the European regulator said in a statement.
This vaccine from the Danish company Bavarian Nordic has been used in the European Union since 2013. It was approved due to the similarities between these two types of smallpox. Several countries in the European Union, including France, had already ordered this vaccine in May.
More than 15,300 registered cases worldwide
The WHO director-general said he was “concerned” about the rise in the number of monkeypox cases as he opened an Emergency Committee meeting on Thursday. He is responsible for possibly declaring a public health emergency of international concern, the highest alert level of health agencies, according to the Committee’s recommendations.
The epidemic situation has worsened in recent weeks, with more than 15,300 cases already registered in 71 countries, according to the latest figures from the United States health authorities (CDC), the most up-to-date.
Source: BFM TV
