Spain wants to ‘dose-spare’ monkeypox vaccine as supplies are scarce

SPAIN is planning to hand out smaller doses of the monkeypox vaccine as there are not enough supplies to go round.

Over 5,000 monkeypox cases have been declared since May, making Spain the world’s second-highest country for the infection, after the United States.

The Health Ministry has asked the European Medicines Agency(EMA) for permission to offer smaller doses, known as ‘dose-sparing’ to distribute limited supplies as far as possible.

The EMA said on Wednesday it would examine the possibility of allowing dose-sparing after the United States on Tuesday backed using one vial of the vaccine to administer up to five separate doses – instead of a single dose.

Spain’s Health Ministry did not specify how many doses it hoped to obtain from one vial, but Madrid’s regional health authority had earlier requested the same scheme as in the United States.

Supplies of Jynneos, the only vaccine approved for the prevention of monkeypox, produced by Danish-based Bavarian Nordic, are scarce.

Spain has only received around 12,000 vaccines via a joint European Union-coordinated purchase.

More than 30,000 cases and 12 deaths have been reported worldwide after the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global health emergency on July 24.

READ MORE:

• Spain confirms second monkeypox-related death
• Seven-month old baby contracts monkeypox in Madrid
• Monkeypox Q&A: how do you catch it and what are the risks? An expert explains