Monkeypox: Great demand for vaccinations in Germany

Created: 08/03/2022, 08:16

By: Carina Blumenroth

Some people in Germany want to be vaccinated against monkeypox - the vaccine is scarce.

Experts say around a million doses are needed.

The federal states are affected by monkeypox very differently, so the vaccine was divided based on the number of cases.

A report by the

shows that in many places the demand for the vaccine is greater than the available vaccine doses.

Monkeypox: Imvanex vaccine against human pox now approved by exemption

For immunization against monkeypox, the vaccine Imvanex was recently approved by exception.

Imvanex was actually previously approved at European level as a vaccine against human smallpox, but due to the sometimes high cases of monkeypox, it was also approved against this.

Around 45,000 doses of Imvanex have been available in Germany since July, with most doses going to Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia due to the large number of cases of illness, according to the

.

Berlin has recorded around 1,330 cases of monkeypox (as of July 28), the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported a total of 2,677 cases of monkeypox across Germany yesterday (as of August 1).

According to the

, there are currently no plans to exchange the vaccine doses within the countries as required.

Imvanex is the vaccine for immunization against monkeypox.

© lex van lieshout photography/Imago

Monkeypox: Who Should Get Vaccinated?

The RKI provides information from the Standing Vaccination Commission, which makes a recommendation as to which groups of people should be vaccinated against monkeypox.

The recommendation is divided into a purely prophylactic type for people at high risk and people who have come into contact with monkeypox but who have an asymptomatic course.

There is a vaccination recommendation for the following groups of people:

• People who have had close contact with infected people (e.g. through open wounds, mucous membranes)

• Men aged 18 and over who have sex with men and frequently change partners

• Personnel in the special laboratory after a risk assessment by the safety officer

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Monkeypox: "We need around a million vaccine doses in Germany"

The German Aidshilfe considers it particularly important that many people who are at risk of infection are vaccinated in order to get the disease under control.

This emerges from a recent press release.

This applies not only to Germany, but also to other countries.

According to estimates by the Deutsche Aidshilfe (German Aids Aid), around one million doses of vaccine are needed to offer vaccination to many people.

In Germany we need around one million doses of vaccine to offer half a million people permanent vaccination protection.

Vaccination-motivated gay men must not be refused vaccinations.

The federal government should order as soon as possible, because short-term purchases will hardly be possible in the near future.

It is important to take precautions

Axel Jeremias Schmidt, epidemiologist and doctor consultant for medicine and health policy at the German Aidshilfe

Imvanex is vaccinated twice, four weeks apart.

Based on a study by EMIS (European MSM Internet Survey) from 2017, Schmidt assumes that there are more than 500,000 homosexual and bisexual men who have contact with changing partners.

In his assessment, he takes into account that not everyone will accept the vaccination offer.

The federal government has currently ordered around 240,000 doses of vaccine, plus over 5,000 doses from EU stocks.

Around 40,000 vaccine doses initially arrived.

It is currently unclear when the remaining cans will be delivered.

However, at the request of the

, these should be delivered in 2022.

However, according to Axel Jeremias Schmidt, the approximately 245,000 doses will not be enough: “We do not assume that the epidemic will be over once the doses available to date have been vaccinated, and we have to be prepared for all scenarios.

It is crucial that as long as there are infections with monkeypox, we must offer people who are at risk a vaccination.

This includes all gay and bisexual men who are not in monogamous relationships."

The

reports that most vaccinations in Berlin are currently used for initial vaccinations.

Vaccines for second vaccinations, which are to be vaccinated four weeks after the first indication, are therefore not withheld.

According to information from the

, the vaccinations are also well received in North Rhine-Westphalia, where most doses are delivered to the administrative district of Cologne.