The European Medicines Agency (EMA) authorized on Friday August 19 a new technique for injecting the monkeypox vaccine, which will make it possible to immunize more people and thus prevent a possible shortage.
European countries can now administer the Imvanex vaccine just under the upper layer of the skin (intradermally) and no longer deep (subcutaneously) as is currently the case, and thus only use a fifth of the dose, the EMA said in a statement.
Risk of skin irritation
This technique which uses a lower dose of vaccine produces the same immunity with an equivalent level of antibodies as the other method, but the risk of skin irritation is higher, the Amsterdam-based watchdog has warned .
“National authorities may decide, as a temporary measure, to use Imvanex by intradermal injection at a lower dose to protect those at risk during the current outbreak of monkeypox, as long as the vaccine supply remains limited, said the EMA.
“Better access to vaccination”
European Commissioner Stella Kyriakides stressed that this authorization was a decision “extremely important because it makes it possible to vaccinate five times more people with the stocks of vaccines we have” currently.
“This guarantees better access to vaccination for people at risk and healthcare professionals”, she added in a statement.