This authorization follows a recommendation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which considered the vaccine to be effective and safe for this age group.
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Brussels gives the green light. The European Commission announced on Friday 20 September that it was extending the authorisation of the MPOX vaccine to adolescents from the age of 12, following the recommendations of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) published on Thursday. The vaccine in question, theImvanex, is authorised in the EU since 2013 to protect adults against smallpox, the European Commission recalls in its press release.
“The fact that adolescents aged 12 to 17 can now be protected against MPOX with a safe and effective vaccine is an important step forward.”reacted the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, in a press release.
“Although the overall risk of being infected with MPOX for the general population in the EU remains low, we are working continuously at EU level to ensure good preparedness.”
Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Healthin a press release
According to the European Medicines Agency, this authorization “can help regulators in African countries fight the ongoing epidemic”.
In France, the High Authority for Health, urgently contacted by the Ministry of Health in early September, did not extend vaccination to new categories of the population, despite the first cases of the disease recorded in Europe during the summer. In this context, the question arose of extending preventive vaccination beyond the groups already targeted for two years: they mainly include men who have homosexual relations, male or female prostitutes and anyone working in places dedicated to sexual encounters.