The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday (September 28) said that the monkeypox vaccine is highly effective and that it is protecting people as early as two week after administering first dose. The agency has posted preliminary analysis. The agency found that between July 31 and September 3, unvaccinated people had 14 times the risk of acquiring monkeypox disease compared to people who were vaccinated, 14 days or more after their first shot. The results were based on confirmed infections from 32 jurisdictions across the country.
In the current outbreak, the US has seen more than 25,000 cases of monkeypox infections. The outbreak began in May this year.
“These new data provide us with a level of cautious optimism that the vaccine is working as intended,” CDC director Rochelle Walensky told reporters during a briefing.
“Even in light of these promising data, we strongly recommend people receive two doses of Jynneos vaccine spaced out 28 days apart to ensure durable, lasting immune protection against monkeypox,” she added.
Despite being approved, there is not yet a confirmed efficacy estimate for the Jynneos vaccine against monkeypox, because prior studies had only looked at animals and measured human immune response data.
More than 66,000 cases of monkeypox have been detected globally, but new infections have been falling since August.
The US has administered more than 680,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine, focusing its efforts on gay and bisexual men, as well as transgender and gender diverse people.
(With inputs from agencies)
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