Monkey pox – Belgium buys 30,000 vaccines
(Belga) Public Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke signed a contract on Saturday with the Danish pharmaceutical firm Bavarian Nordic for the purchase of 30,000 vaccines against the monkey pox virus, he said in a statement on Saturday.
These vaccines were to be supplied from the fall, starting with a first delivery of 10,000 doses. Purchased differently, these vaccines are in addition to the more than 3,000 doses that the Federal government has received from the European Union, and which can be administered in nine reference centers in the country, to people who have had unprotected contact at high risk with an infected person. It is due to the low number of vaccines currently available and the uncertainty about deliveries that these strict conditions prevail. With the purchase of 30,000 3rd generation Jynneos vaccines, some 15,000 additional people could be protected, including people at high risk of HIV and who are on preventive treatment (PrEP), as well as healthcare providers in reference centers . But an opinion from the Superior Health Council is still necessary. “We are raising awareness as much as possible, but the numbers will start to climb and we will have to be well prepared. As soon as we receive the additional doses, hopefully in the fall, we can invite more people at risk to be vaccinated”, indicated Mr. Vandenbroucke (Vooruit). According to the latest figures from Sciensano, a total of 224 confirmed cases and one probable case of monkeypox have been reported, mostly men between the ages of 20 and 65. (Belgian)