WHO Authorizes First Mpox Vaccine For Use In Adults

The New York Times (9/13, Nolen) reported the WHO on Friday authorized the “first vaccine to protect against mpox, a decision announced in such haste...that it caught even the head of the company that makes the vaccine by surprise.” The organization previously “defended its slow pace of review” of Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine, “saying that it needed to subject the vaccine to careful study.” However, “on Friday morning, the WHO suddenly said it was authorizing the shot.” Reuters (9/13, Mishra, Rigby) said the WHO and partners on Friday also established “a scheme to help bring mpox vaccines, tests and treatments to the most vulnerable people in the world’s poorest countries, similar to efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, after earlier approving the first shot for the fast-spreading disease.” The steps should ease access to the vaccine as mpox spreads. The Hill (9/13, O'Connell-Domenech) reported, “Bavarian Nordic said its vaccine has been cleared for the immunization against smallpox, mpox and related orthopoxvirus in adults 18 and older.”