The European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorized this Friday a new injection technique for the monkeypox vaccine, which will allow more people to be immunized and thus avoid a possible shortage.
European countries can now administer the Imvanex vaccine just below the top layer of the skin (intradermally) and not deeper (subcutaneously) as is currently done, thus using only a fifth of the dose, the EMA in a statement.
This technique, which uses a lower dose of vaccine, produces the same immunity with an equivalent level of antibodies as the other method, but the risk of skin irritation is higher, the Amsterdam-based watchdog warned.
A “temporary measure”
“National authorities may decide, as a temporary measure, to use Imvanex by intradermal injection at a lower dose to protect people at risk during the current monkeypox outbreak, as long as the vaccine supply remains limited,” the statement said. EMA.
The European Commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, stressed that this authorization is an “extremely important decision because it allows five times more people to be vaccinated with the vaccine reserves that we currently have.”
“This ensures better access to vaccination for people at risk and health professionals,” he added in a statement.
Source: BFM TV
