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EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides: According to information from Brussels, around 5,300 vaccine doses should come to Germany with the first delivery
Photo: JOHN THYS / AFP
Germany has received the first doses of the monkeypox vaccine ordered through the EU.
As EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides told the German Press Agency, the delivery was made possible via the new EU authority for the prevention of health crises (Hera).
The EU was able to react quickly and buy the vaccine for member states, the Commissioner explained.
According to information from Brussels, around 5,300 vaccine doses should come to Germany with the first delivery.
In mid-June, the EU initially ordered around 110,000 third-generation cans from the company Bavarian Nordic, which are now gradually being delivered to member countries as well as Norway and Iceland.
Transmission mainly through close physical contact
In Germany, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) registered 1,054 monkeypox infections as of Friday.
According to the current state of knowledge, the actually rare virus disease, of which several thousand cases have been detected worldwide, is mainly transmitted through close physical contact from person to person.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the vast majority of those affected are men who have sex with men.
In general, however, anyone can become infected through close physical contact.
The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) in Germany recommends vaccination against monkeypox for certain risk groups and people who have had close contact with infected people.
tfb/dpa