US buys millions of vaccine doses for new virus
Officials have got rushed to secure vaccines since cases of the rare monkeypox virus continue to crop up in america and Europe
The US health authorities have authorized a deal for $119 million in vaccine dosages against the monkeypox virus, after a Massachusetts man was identified as having the rare but potentially serious illness earlier this week.
The Biomedical Advanced R and d Authority (BARDA) – the government agency devoted to dealing with pandemics and bioterrorism – signed the multi-million-dollar contract with Danish pharma company Bavarian Nordic on Wednesday, the company announced in a statement .
The $119 mil deal is one in a number of contract options which could eventually reach a total value of $299 million if exercised, in return for around 13 million freeze-dried doses of the Jynneos vaccine. It was originally created for smallpox, but was approved for use against monkeypox by the As well as Drug Administration (FDA) within 2019, just months prior to the first cases of Covid-19 were detected in China.
Initial deliveries for the Jynneos shot refuses to come until 2023, the business said, noting that the complete 13 million doses are required to be ready sometime among 2024 and 2025 should BARDA agree to extend the contract.
The first monkeypox case in the US was confirmed on Wednesday within a man who had lately traveled to Canada. Federal health officials have given that said they are monitoring six others after they came into close proximity to an infected traveler during a flight from Nigeria to the UK earlier this particular month, while another probable case is being investigated with the New York City Health Department.
A number of suspected or confirmed infections have also been observed in The uk, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Sweden in current weeks. Australia has just detected its first case.
On Thursday night, Bavarian Nordic announced that it acquired also reached a handle an “ undisclosed European country” for the same dual-use smallpox vaccine – though offered under different branding – “ in response to brand new cases of monkeypox. ” The company did not elaborate on how many dosages would be procured or offer an overall price tag for the contract.
In addition to vaccines, the US government also relocated to buy up doses of tecovirimat, the standard antiviral therapy for monkeypox, with the Section of Defense signing a $7. 5 million obtain the drug with American pharmaceutical firm SIGA Technology last week.
An intravenous form of exactly the same antiviral received FDA approval for treatment of smallpox on Thursday, though SIGA said the IV version was also “ cited in the recent US president’s budget request as being utilized to treat a patient in the US with monkeypox. ”
While rare, monkeypox has been detected in the US before, with a Tx resident becoming hospitalized from the malware last summer after traveling to West Africa, where the virus is endemic. In the year 2003, more than 70 cases were confirmed in the US, marking the very first outbreak seen outside of Africa, according to the World Wellness Organization.
Preliminary symptoms include fever, mind and muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and exhaustion, and though most bacterial infections resolve without serious sickness, the virus is lethal in a small percentage of cases.
