On the same day that the European Union announced the purchase of more than 100,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine, the World Health Organization recommended that the vaccines be given to risk-takers and health professionals or technicians to diagnose the disease. The situation is incorporated into the interim guidance for the vaccination strategy issued this Tuesday.
The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes that universal vaccination, ie for the whole population, is not recommended for an outbreak of monkeypox (monkeypox or VMPX). Surveillance and containment is a priority for the WHO, which also indicates the need for increased contact tracing and monitoring of confirmed cases.
This Tuesday, 1,500 confirmed cases were exceeded in countries where the disease is not endemic, after Portugal has 231 – The survival of the country with the most confirmed cases per million inhabitants.
As for the vaccination strategy For contacts of confirmed or suspected cases, the WHO recommends that doses of second or third generation vaccines be given to contacts of confirmed or suspected cases – up to four days after contact (or up to 14 days if no symptoms appear).
In these cases, the degree of danger also varies depending on the type of connection. The World Health Organization indicates that contacts with high or medium risk should get the vaccine afterwards open . Medium and medium contact includes proximity in the same physical space without wearing appropriate protective equipment. High-risk contact involves inhalation of droplets or dust from contaminated sites, direct physical contact, or exposure to, or exposure to, contaminated materials (eg towels, objects, or clothing).
In the case of health professionals or diagnostic laboratories in VMPX Vaccination is recommended as a precaution for all who may be at risk of exposure. The World Health Organization says that people “who may be at risk in this outbreak are health care facilities and laboratory personnel who work with or diagnose this virus family”.
In case of contact with a confirmed or suspected case, there are priority groups for vaccination against VMPX: children, pregnant women and immunocompromised persons. These high-risk groups, as defined by the World Health Organization, are more likely to develop serious disease than the rest of the population. However, despite this, prophylactic vaccination is not recommended in these cases – only after contact with the case.
The day after the first case of VMPX was announced in Portugal, the European Center for Disease Control had already recognized the possibility of vaccination high-risk communications , a strategy now recommended (and expanded) by the World Health Organization. In contrast to the Directorate General of Health, national authorities in other European countries have already provided indications for vaccination against VMPX, and Canada, Spain, the United States, France and the United Kingdom have already begun administering doses to risk-takers and specialists. health.
