First batch of 5300 Monkeypox vaccine doses delivered to Spain by the European Commission

The first batch of 5300 vaccine doses against Monkeypox purchased by the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority was delivered to Spain yesterday, a Commission’s spokesperson has said. Stella Kyriakides, European commissioner for health and food safety said that the first deliveries of vaccines in response to the monkeypox.The vaccine doses are allocated on a pro-rata basis, with the countries reporting the highest number of cases prioritized for delivery. After Spain, Portugal, Germany and Belgium will receive vaccines.

Monkeypox is a zoonotic disease, which is transmitted from animals to humans, but also from the human to human.The Commission said that since May 18th, around 2,682 cases of Monkeypox have been reported in 23 of the 27 EU member states. This  current monkeypox outbreak is the first recorded outside Africa.