US to boost monkeypox vaccine supply, adding 1.8 million doses: White House

The United States will boost its supply of monkeypox vaccine by making an additional 1.8 million doses of Bavarian Nordic's Jynneos vaccine available for ordering starting Aug. 22, the White House said on Thursday.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will make 360,000 vials of the vaccine available, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O'Connell said in a White House briefing. This is the equivalent of 1.8 million doses as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week authorised administering the shot intradermally or between the layers of the skin, increasing by fivefold the doses that can be used from a vial.

The number of cases in the United States has been growing, with over 13,500 reported as of Aug. 17, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director (CDC) Rochelle Walensky said at the briefing. This represents more than a third of the global total of 39,000 cases.

The health department is setting aside 50,000 doses of vaccine from the Strategic National Stockpile that health departments in places hosting large events that attract at-risk groups can request to order on top of their existing allocations and supply, said Bob Fenton, White House monkeypox response coordinator.

The department is also making 50,000 courses of SIGA Technologies Inc's TPOXX antiviral treatment available for people who test positive, which state and local health departments can start ordering starting next week, Fenton said.

(Reuters)