In collaboration with businesses and pride events, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and the BCCDC is rolling out pop-up monkeypox vaccination sites..The first cases of monkeypox were identified by VCH in early June, and as of July 28 there’s been 61 cases in the province..“BC is working closely with federal and provincial partners to stop the spread of monkeypox,” said the BCCDC, adding the risk to the general population in BC is “considered low.”.Despite a seemingly low threat, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox a “public health emergency of international concern” July 23, 2022 after it was found in more than 70 countries..While the majority of recent global infections are among men who identify as gay or bisexual, the BCCDC says it can affect anyone through close person-to-person contact, adding vaccination can be used both before and after exposure..Imvamune is the vaccine used in Canada, and the injections will be made available to pride event attendees at various locations. VCH has also partnered with other organizations to offer more monkeypox vaccine clinics across the greater Vancouver area..Trademarked as Imvanex in the European Union and Jynneos in the US, Canada’s Imvamune is manufactured by Bavarian Nordic, headquartered in Denmark..The vaccine was initially developed to be used for the prevention of smallpox..The company announced May 30 it signed new supply contracts with a number of undisclosed countries for its smallpox vaccine. Canada and the United States already had ongoing supply contracts with the company, which began supplying its smallpox vaccine for "sporadic cases" of monkeypox in recent years..“The current monkeypox outbreak continues to call for a swift and coordinated response from health authorities, and we are pleased to assist more countries with supply of vaccines while we continue our dialogues with other governments to make vaccines available as fast as possible to mitigate the situation,” said Paul Chaplin, president and CEO of Bavarian Nordic..As a result of the monkeypox outbreak and subsequent supply contracts, Bavarian Nordic raised its expectations in June for 2022's financial results to be between DKK 1,400 and 1,600 million from a previous DKK 1,300 and 1,500 million..Bavarian Nordic's share price rose by 122% in the last three months, and the WHO's recent declaration the virus is now an international health emergency has drawn extra attention to the company's stock..As of Monday, 7,200 doses of Imvamune have been administrated to "high-risk people" in BC and the province says it will order more doses weekly from Health Canada's stockpile..To date, BC received 14,480 doses for outbreak control and post-exposure prophylaxis..Local health officials say the majority of people with monkeypox have mild symptoms and do not require any specific interventions.
