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COPENHAGEN – Denmark is considering offering Bavarian Nordic-produced vaccines for close contact with those infected with monkeypox, the Danish Health Authority told Reuters on Wednesday.
“The Danish Health Authority is investigating whether people who have been in close contact with a person infected with monkeypox should be offered the vaccination,” the Health Authority said in an email to Reuters.
The statement is a clarification from a report by public broadcaster DR on Tuesday, which said authorities had already decided to provide the vaccine to close contacts.
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It was not immediately clear whether Denmark had the vaccine in stock or whether the authorities should procure it.
The Ministry of Health, which will finally decide whether to buy the vaccine, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to the World Health Organization, there have been more than 100 suspected or confirmed cases in Europe and North America of smallpox, a disease commonly found in West and Central Africa.
Denmark has reported two cases of smallpox infection during the current outbreak, both related to trips to Spain. The first case had traveled to Gran Canaria. (Report by Nikolaj Skydsgaard; edited by Bill Berkrot and Jason Neely)