WHO approves second mpox vaccine

WHO approves second mpox vaccine
WHO approves second mpox vaccine

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday (Nov. 19) approved a mpox vaccine made by Japanese pharmaceutical company KM Biologics for emergency use, the second to gain approval from the agency.

The WHO has granted the LC16m8 vaccine authorization to be placed on the emergency use list, which it says should “facilitate increased and rapid access to vaccines in communities where mpox outbreaks are increasing”. A WHO emergency use authorization allows all countries to quickly approve and import a vaccine for distribution. “The listing of the LC16m8 mpox vaccine on the WHO emergency list marks an important step in our response to the current emergency, providing a new option to protect all populations, including children”said Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for Access to Medicines, in a statement.

Another prequalified vaccine

In September, the WHO had already prequalified another vaccine against mpox, MVA-BN.

On August 14, the United Nations health agency declared a new international emergency over mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, amid growing concern over a surge in cases of the new Clade 1b strain in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has spread to neighboring countries. According to the WHO, this and other strains of smallpox have been reported in 80 countries, including 19 in Africa, since the start of the year.

The Japanese government has announced its intention to offer 3.05 million doses of the LC16m8 vaccine to the DRC.

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