This emergency call follows after the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, triggered the process for Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of mpox vaccines on August 7, 2024.
According to WHO, there had been a serious and growing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has now expanded outside the country — a new viral strain, which first emerged in September 2023, and for the first time, being detected outside of DRC.
WHO says the EUL procedure, is an emergency use authorization process, specifically developed to expedite the availability of unlicensed medical products like vaccines that are needed in public health emergency situations, though, a time-limited recommendation, based on a risk-benefit approach.
WHO opines that granting of an EUL will accelerate vaccine access, particularly for those lower-income countries which have not yet issued their own national regulatory approval, adding that, the EUL also enables partners including Gavi and UNICEF to procure vaccines for distribution.
WHO specifically discloseed that, Mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus — a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus, which can be transmitted to humans through; physical contact with someone who is infectious, with contaminated materials, or with infected animals.
Currently, WHO states that there are just two vaccines in use against the disease, both of which have been recommended for use by the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, or SAGE.
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