Moderna Working On Potential Monkeypox Vaccines: Do We Need It?

Countries have been quick to stockpile monkeypox vaccines to avoid another pandemic. WHO says it's 'not urgent'.

US based biotechnology giant, Moderna Inc., is reoprtedly testing potential vaccines against monkeypox amidst breakouts of the disease in parts of Europe, and North America.

The vaccines are still in the pre-clinical trial stage, and Moderna has not released any further details, reported Reuters.

According to the World Health Organization's latest update, 131 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed so far, and 106 suspected cases have been reported in countries where it is not an endemic since the disease was flagged on 7 May.

Monkeypox Vaccines

Before smallpox was eradicated, and routine smallpox vaccination was stopped, the same vaccine was found to be effective against monkeypox as well.

One of these vaccines, Jynneos, was also approved by the FDA in 2019 specifically for use against monkeypox.

Many countries, including the UK, have already started offering the smallpox vaccine to people who are at a high risk of exposure to the monkeypox virus.

The rise in cases of monkeypox has set off alarm bells in many countries that are reportedly already making arrangements to stockpile the smallpox vaccine in an attempt to be prepared for the worst.

The WHO, on Monday, however, clarified that mass vaccination against monkeypox won't be needed, and that maintaining good hygiene and practising safe sexual can adequately control it's spread.

Can Monkeypox Lead to a Pandemic?

With the world reeling from one global pandemic, the question on everyone's minds is, 'can monkeypox lead to another pandemic like COVID-19?'

Not likely, say scientists. One reason for this is that unlike SARS-COV-2 which is a highly transmissible virus, monkeypox doesn't spread easily, and is passed on mainly through very close contact with an infected person.

According to the UK Health Security Agency (UK HSA), the monkeypox strain that they have detected in the new patients seems to be a milder one.

Although in some cases monkeypox can lead to severe illness and even death, most people will recover within a few weeks with symptomatic care, according to the UK HSA.

For the time being, health authorities have recommended maintaining hygiene, practicing safe sex, and keeping an eye out for symptoms like blisters along with a fever, body ache, headache and other flu like symptoms.

(Written with inputs from Reuters.)