There are concerns that the window of opportunity to contain the monkeypox outbreak may be closing, with vaccine shortages leaving some groups waiting weeks to get jabbed.
A failure to get the outbreak under control could cause it to spread.
The U.K. Health Security Agency expects to run out of vaccine within the next two weeks and may not get more until September. Other high-case countries are looking at new methods of inoculation.
While freeing up capacity for other countries, Bavarian Nordic signed a deal with a contract manufacturer to help complete orders of its Jynneos vaccine in the U.S. The process is expected to take three months to complete.
According to the report, the company was no longer certain it could meet rising demand.
Over 35,000 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in 92 non-endemic countries since the first case was reported in the U.K. There have been twelve deaths.
The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that the spread of the virus was continuing, with cases rising 20% in the past week.
Gay and bisexual men who have sex with other men are more likely to contract monkeypox than any other person.
The drive to protect the most vulnerable with either pre- or post-exposure vaccinations has been spurred by that. The risks of a wider outbreak are increasing due to shortfalls in vaccine supply.
If an outbreak is to be stopped, you have a very short window of opportunity. At this point, we see this window of opportunity slowly closing.
If an outbreak is to be stopped, you have a short time to stop it. Professor Eyal Leshem of Israel's Sheba Medical Center said that the window of opportunity is closing.
Leshem said that it would be possible to see the virus transmit more easily to other groups.
There is a reduced chance of containing this disease. He named close contacts and household members, including children and pets, as potentially vulnerable groups.
The first instance of an animal catching a human disease was reported in Paris.
Some countries are resorting to other means of protecting vulnerable groups as they wait for more vaccine supply.
The UKHSA said in a letter that it would hold back some stock for patients who had been exposed, meaning other people would have to wait.
Spain, which has the most reported cases of a non-endemic country, requested permission from the European Medicines Agency to give smaller doses of the vaccine.
The dose-sparing plans backed by the U.S. health regulators allow one vaccine to be injected between the skin and below the collarbone.
A relatively short and temporary decrease in the rate of vaccine administration may not have a big impact.
Vaccines should not be seen as the only form of protection against monkeypox, according to the WHO technical lead for the disease.
She said that more data is needed on the efficacy ofVaccines. The current data comes from a study done in the 1980's which found that the vaccine for smallpox was 85% effective at preventing monkeypox.
She said that people who think they are at risk should reduce their number of sex partners and avoid casual sex. She said that if someone gets a vaccine, they should wait until it's time to have sex to make sure they have the best immune response.
The senior researcher at the University of Oxford's Pandemic Sciences Institute said that a brief drop off in vaccinations may not derail broader efforts to combat the virus.
If it turns out that a large proportion of those at greatest risk of exposure have already beenvaccinated, then a relatively short and temporary decrease in the rate of vaccine administration may not have a huge impact on achieving the overall aim.
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