Monkeypox: Portugal still doesn’t know when to get more vaccines | Directorate-General for Health
Five months on, the monkeypox outbreak is slowing in Europe, where the virus spread most rapidly until the summer. Still, the European Commission does not disarm and continues to reinforce the importance of distributing generations to contain and vaccinate, eventually, eliminate a threat. However, until Thursday, the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), without knowing when they will be distributed as new doses contracted by the European agency HERA [sigla em inglês de Autoridade Sanitária de Resposta e Emergência].
Portugal 200 of the more than 110 thousand doses initially purchased by the European Commission from the manufacturer of Imvanex, the third generation against smallpox that also shows concern against the monkey vaccine (VMPX or varicella). This purchase took place at the end of May, since then 54 thousand doses were contracted in July and 170 thousand doses in the beginning of September.
“HERA informed the member states, Portugal, that a second date planned to start on the 3rd. in response to the PUBLIC. At this moment, when we are already in the last quarter of the year, there is still no new information about this distribution.
The joint composition of the member states of the European Union provides for greater flexibility in the agreement strategy on the part of the most affected countries. On the 2nd of September, Portugal on the 2nd of September will include a moment of prevention for people who are most at risk of contracting the infection. As of last Thursday, there were already 500 people advanced by the 500 people who were built in contact with confirmed or suspected cases, until the previous region of Lisbon and Vale only settled in the DGS (without reliable data). Portugal has had, since the beginning of the outbreak, 926 people infected.
In addition to the delay in the delivery of vaccines, there are also criticisms in the distribution model. Margarida Tava, DGS spokesperson for this outbreak and who is now Secretary of State for Health Promotion, stands out even in statements to the PUBLIC at the end of July: “As the doses were distributed in July per capita – countries had the most doses and the smallest, regardless of the size of the cases they are suffering.”
The European Commission, asked by PÚBLICO about the delivery periods, or the distribution model, did not advance any details about this operation.
On the 15th of this year, an adoption in Portugal of the so-called “dose savings” country of greater use of the 2700 vaccines available. This “dose-saving” strategy, in which one vial allows five doses to be administered, guarantees an increase in possible immunizations.
Despite the fall in Europe, the numbers continue to grow. The American continent was especially affected, with the United States (26,311 confirmed cases) and Brazil (8,029) at the top of the list of countries with the most recorded infections. Since the first case was reported on May 7 in the UK, more than 70,000 people have been diagnosed with VMPX – most in countries that are not currently.
Outdated vaccines
In June, when the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended administering vaccines to at-risk contacts and healthcare workers, one of the unanswered questions was about strategic stockpiles of smallpox vaccines.
In 2008, the (at the time) deputy director-general of Health, Graça Freitas, claimed that vaccines against smallpox had been acquired, as it could be a biological weapon. These first-generation vaccines, as confirmed by the DGS, were to the PUBLIC, and were not used in this VMPX outbreak, as a WHO itself ruled out.
“Portugal, like many other countries that had first-generation vaccines in inventory for smallpox, it did not use the aforementioned stock, as these vaccines are already out of date”, replies the DGS.
N/A WHO follow-up, dated June 14th and meanwhile updated, only the use of second and third generation vaccines is recommended to immunize the population against VMPX. According to the world body, these vaccines “do not meet current safety and manufacturing standards.”
As in 2008, no advance information was provided on the number of available doses of first-generation vaccines – which will now be unusable.