The central government has decided against emergency procurement of the monkeypox vaccine for now as the number of reported cases in the country has not seen a rise, according to people familiar with the matter.
The country so far has reported only 10 cases of the viral disease.
“Emergency procurement of monkeypox vaccine will not happen for now as the situation in India is very much under control,” an official said on condition of anonymity. “That said, the government is keeping an eye and is fully prepared to handle the situation should there be a surge seen at any point in the future.”
Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer of Serum Institute of India, which was among the first few that showed interest in getting the monkeypox vaccine into India, confirmed last week that it had put its plan on hold.
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“The need for a vaccine for monkeypox is debatable considering the spread of the infection in the country has been under control,” Poonawalla said at an event on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}“The need for a vaccine for monkeypox is debatable considering the spread of the infection in the country has been under control,” Poonawalla said at an event on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}In earlier statements made in July, when some cases were reported, Poonawalla said his company was in talks with Danish firm Bavarian Nordic, the only one in the world that manufactures a licensed vaccine against monkeypox, to procure a small batch for India. He also hinted at the possibility of developing the vaccine in India “as per need” and “directions from the government”.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is also working on an initiative to assist local vaccine developers in creating the monkeypox vaccine indigenously.
However, the supplies are likely to be for export. “The plan to manufacture the vaccine locally is still there, but given the kind of numbers we have seen with no increase in cases fortunately, the supplies will largely be utilised for export to countries where the numbers are on the higher side,” a government functionary said, declining to be named.
On July 27, country’s apex biomedical research regulator floated an expression of interest for development of vaccine and diagnostic kits against the viral disease, with at least eight companies having shown interest. ICMR’s National Institute of Virology in Pune has isolated the virus strain.
Also read: Global monkeypox cases breach 50,000 mark: WHO
Vaccination against smallpox has been demonstrated through several observational studies to be about 85% effective in preventing monkeypox, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
On July 14, India reported its first human monkeypox case from Kerala. Since then, 10 confirmed cases of monkeypox have been identified from Kerala and New Delhi (five each) till September 1.
Monkeypox is a self-limiting viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients.
Since early May, WHO reported at least 40,000 cases from 94 countries outside Africa, where the disease is endemic. The UN health body declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on July 23 amid rising cases.