Researchers will not be able to say anything about the effect of the vaccine used against monkeypox in September at the earliest, says virologist Marion Koopmans of Erasmus MC. In that hospital, 100 people are being followed who recently received a vaccination against the monkey pox virus.
People who are at increased risk of getting monkeypox can currently be vaccinated with a smallpox vaccine. This is a further developed variant of the drug that was used until 1974 against ‘normal’ smallpox, Koopmans explains. The Rotterdam study examines, among other things, how many antibodies people make against monkeypox after a shot with the smallpox vaccine.
The vaccine has so far been used very little in African countries where the monkeypox virus has been around for some time. Therefore, there is little information about its action in the prevention of monkey pox. And that is a shame, says Koopmans. “Because there is little vaccine available, so you have to make sure you learn something from it. Gone is gone.”
Effects
In the Netherlands, people currently receive two shots, with a month between the first and the second shot. The researchers want to find out whether it matters for the effectiveness of the vaccine whether people already received an ‘old’ smallpox vaccine or not. It is also being examined whether the second injection after a month really causes even more reaction in the body, says Koopmans.
It is not yet possible to say whether the vaccine is also effective in the longer term and whether it can therefore permanently protect people against an infection with monkeypox, says the virologist. This requires a larger and longer-term study.
In the Netherlands, several tens of thousands of people can get the vaccine against monkey pox. Transgender people and men who have sex with men are eligible for the shot if they are HIV positive or if they take medication to prevent them from contracting HIV. People get the smallpox vaccine Imvanex.
By: ANP | Photo: ANP