EU approves Danish vaccine to treat Monkeypox

A Danish company has been given the green light by the EU to market its vaccine as an effective treatment for Monkeypox

Danish company “Bavarian Nordic” says the European Commission has given it permission to market its vaccine as an effective Monkeypox treatment.

The USA and Canada had already granted permission for it to be used.

The European Union had – until now – only allowed the Imvantex vaccine to be officially allowed to be marketed as a smallpox treatment.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the most recent cases were being detected among gay and bisexual men and men who have sex with men.

The vaccine had already been supplied to several European countries for official “off-label” use.

The World Health Organisation announced in recent days that Monkeypox was a global health emergency and raised it to the WHO’s highest level of alert over the weekend.

But he also cautioned against stigma,

Stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Over 2200 monkeypox cases have already been identified in the United Kingdom.

The UK has already begun rolling out pop up vaccine centres in several locations to populations most at risk.

Around 98 per cent of identified cases in the UK are among gay and bisexual men, as well as men who have sex with men.

It is being distributed via sexual health clinics.

It is important to recognise that just one or two genital or anal lesions, or lesions in the mouth, can be signs of monkeypox, especially if you have had a new sexual partner.

UK Health Security Agency

Monkeypox is not strictly a sexually transmitted disease – requiring only physical contact or prolonged close proximity.

According to one recent study by researches at the Queen Mary University in London, sexual transmission is the largest factor.

But it can be transmitted via touch, droplets, or even coming into contact with surfaces that an infected person has touched.