The CDC on Friday released recommendations from its group of independent experts on a smallpox vaccine that limit its use only to people who work closely with viruses such as monkeypox. (Tami Chappell, Reuters)
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WASHINGTON – U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released recommendations from its group of independent experts on a smallpox vaccine on Friday that limit its use to people who work closely with viruses such as monkeypox. .
The Jynneos vaccine, manufactured by Bavarian Nordic, will be available to certain health care workers and laboratory staff at a time when monkeypox infections have spread to Europe, the United States and beyond.
The vaccine was approved in the United States in 2019 to prevent smallpox and monkeypox in high-risk adults 18 years of age and older.
CDC officials earlier this week said they were in the process of releasing some doses of the Jynneos vaccine to people in contact with known monkeypox patients.
Officials said there were more than 100 million doses of an old smallpox vaccine called ACAM2000, made by Emergent BioSolutions, which has significant side effects.
Smallpox is a mild viral infection that is endemic in parts of Africa, but the recent outbreak in countries where the virus is not used to spread has raised concerns.
To date, there are about 300 confirmed or suspected cases in about 20 countries where the virus was not previously circulating. The Salt Lake County Department of Health confirmed two cases of smallpox in Utah on Wednesday. The World Health Organization has called for swift action by countries to curb the spread of smallpox.
The CDC said the recommendations of its experts are aimed at clinical laboratory staff who perform diagnostic tests for orthopoxviruses such as smallpox and monkeypox, laboratory people who do research on viruses, and health care workers who administer ACAM2000 vaccine or treat patients infected with orthopoxvirus.
The publication of the CDC Immunization Practice Advisory Committee vote, which took place in November last year, formalizes the recommendations.
Both ACAM2000 and Jynneos are available for the prevention of orthopoxvirus infections among people at risk, the CDC said Friday.
Collaboration: Amruta Khandekar
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