GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced prequalified the first vaccine, the MVA-BN vaccine, against mpox amid rising number of cases across the world, including Pakistan.
The prequalification approval is expected to facilitate timely and increased access to this vital product in communities with urgent need, to reduce transmission and help contain the outbreak.
WHO’s assessment for prequalification is based on information submitted by the manufacturer, Bavarian Nordic A/S, and review by the European Medicines Agency, the regulatory agency of record for this vaccine.
“This first prequalification of a vaccine against mpox is an important step in our fight against the disease, both in the context of the current outbreaks in Africa, and in future,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “We now need urgent scale up in procurement, donations and rollout to ensure equitable access to vaccines where they are needed most, alongside other public health tools, to prevent infections, stop transmission and save lives.”
The MVA-BN vaccine can be administered in people over 18-years of age as a 2-dose injection given 4 weeks apart. After prior cold storage, the vaccine can be kept at 2–8°C for up to 8 weeks.
The total number of mpox cases has reached to five in Pakistan after a man tested positive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
KP Health Minister Qasim Ali Shah announced that a 33-year-old resident of Peshawar tested positive for the disease.
The patient, who had returned from Saudi Arabia on September 7, was diagnosed at Khyber Teaching Hospital and is currently in isolation at his home in Lower Dir.
In response to the rising monkeypox cases, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued an advisory about the global outbreak of the virus.
