Demand for Monkeypox Vaccine Exceeds Supply, C.D.C. Says

Jynneos, the only vaccine approved by the F.D.A. specifically for monkeypox, is given in two doses, 28 days apart. It is made by Bavarian Nordic, a small company in Denmark, and its global supply has been exceedingly limited.

The United States has purchased nearly seven million doses in total, but has received just 372,000 of them, Dawn O’Connell, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services, said on Friday. So far, 156,000 doses have been distributed nationally, she said.

State health officials can request an alternative vaccine known as ACAM2000, which was developed to prevent smallpox and should also provide protection against monkeypox, experts say. But that vaccine is associated with serious side effects, and the federal government has only provided it to “a few states in relatively modest quantities,” Ms. O’Connell said.

The Food and Drug Administration recently finished inspecting Bavarian Nordic’s manufacturing facility in Denmark and is deciding whether to approve an additional 780,000 doses made there.

“We’re diligently working to finish up our evaluation of the required information, anticipating the hopeful release of these doses before the end of July,” said Dr. Peter Marks, a top vaccine regulator at the F.D.A.

The United States is not considering shifting to a one-dose strategy to stretch the existing supply, he added. “We’re confident that we’ll have a supply of vaccine in order to be able to vaccinate with the second dose at the appropriate 28-day interval or close to it,” he said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/15/health/monkeypox-vaccine-supply.html