Brazil negotiates purchase of monkeypox vaccine, says Queiroga

The Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, told the Sheet that Brazil is already negotiating with PAHO (Pan American Health Organization) the acquisition of a vaccine against monkeypox (monkeypox), which was declared this Saturday as a global public health emergency by the WHO (World Health Organization).

According to Queiroga, the SVS (Health Surveillance Secretariat) is in the process of evaluating the amount needed, and the acquisition will be made through the revolving fund, an international mechanism for technical cooperation for access to vaccines.

“There is only one manufacturer [a empresa de biotecnologia dinamarquesa Bavarian Nordic] and has no representative in Brazil. Thus, the acquisition must be via PAHO”, says the minister.

According to Queiroga, the WHO’s declaration of global emergency comes at a time when measures to contain cases are being adopted in Brazil. “The diagnostic network is structured. All cases are being followed up,” he said.

In Brazil, the Ministry of Health confirmed 607 cases of the disease until last Friday (22). The balance is more than double verified on the 9th, when there were 218 confirmed diagnoses across the country.

Cases of the disease are mainly concentrated in São Paulo. In total, according to data from the ministry, the state recorded 438 positive diagnoses of the disease until this Friday, representing about 72% of the total.

The Imvanex vaccine has already gained approval for the prevention of monkeypox in the United States and Canada. This Saturday (23), the EMA (European Medicines Agency) also recommended the approval of the extension of the immunizer, used until 2013 to combat smallpox, to protect adults against the monkeypox virus.

“The label extension will help improve vaccine access across Europe and strengthen future preparedness against monkeypox,” Bavarian Nordic CEO Paul Chaplin said in a statement.

In the United States, the FDA (American regulatory agency) has also approved the use of the ACAM2000 vaccine (Sanofi) for the prevention of the disease.

According to epidemiologist Fabio Mesquita, who was once director of the Department of STDs, AIDS and Viral Hepatitis at the Ministry of Health, although there is no global consensus on the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing cases of monkeypox, the major agencies regulatory agencies have the autonomy to approve it for this purpose.

“In Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, vaccines are being used only in areas of high risk of transmission, in men who have sex with men and in health professionals. Industrial production is small, they have not yet been widely adopted. in any country,” says he, who is currently a member of the WHO staff based in Myanmar.

According to Mesquita, there are also drugs being researched to be indicated in the clinical phase of the disease. “We have to offer the best clinical care possible. Even though so far there has been no marked mortality, many people report that the pain can be unbearable,” she says.

For him, it is very important to warn that, although the disease is spreading more among men who have sex with men, this public cannot be stigmatized.