US orders $119 million-worth Monkeypox vaccines as Massachusetts man infected

The US government has ordered millions of doses of a vaccine, made by biotechnology company Bavarian Nordic, that protects against monkeypox. The news comes after the first confirmed case in the states was announced Wednesday.

Following an outbreak in the UK, a man in Massachusetts was said to have been infected by the monkeypox.

The order amounts to a $119 million order for Jynneos vaccines, reports said. The order will convert bulk vaccines into freeze-dried versions which have an improved shelf-life.

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The total government contract with Bavarian Nordic amounts to $299 million. It’s expected that the first doses will be manufactured by next year with further doses available in 2024 and 2025.

Concerns have been growing for cases of monkeypox, which is a viral disease first discovered in 1958 among colonies of monkeys that were being kept for research. The first human case was recorded in 1970. Monkeypox has largely been seen in Africa.

The illness typically starts off with flulike symptoms and swelling lymph nodes, then by a rash on the face and body. It usually takes two to four weeks to resolve. 

Monkeypox typically appears seven to 14 days after exposure. Monkeypox usually lasts two to four weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Monkeypox is typically transmitted by a person coming into contact with the virus via another person, animal or material that is contaminated. There is so far no known specific treatment to effectively treat monkeypox.

According to a 2019 fact sheet from the World Health Organization, the fatality rate is roughly 0% to 10%, and slightly higher among children.

“While the full circumstances around the current monkeypox cases in Europe remain to be elucidated, the speed of which these have evolved, combined with the potential for infections beyond the initial case going undetected, calls for a rapid and coordinated approach by the health authorities, and we are pleased to assist in this emergency situation,” Paul Chaplin, CEO of Bavarian Nordic, said.

“Infection control has been a high priority for societies during COVID-19, and this situation is an unfortunate reminder that we cannot let our guard down but must continue to build and strengthen our infectious-disease preparedness to keep the world open,” he said.