Initially, about a thousand vaccine doses are coming to Finland as part of the EU’s joint procurement. According to the expert, Finland is not late in preparing.
Finland is still waiting for the first vaccine doses against monkeypox. Specialist doctor at THL of the Institute of Health and Welfare Anniina Virkku tells that the vaccines have not yet arrived in Finland.
More than two weeks ago, THL said that the doses should arrive in Finland at the end of July. About a thousand vaccine doses are coming to Finland.
– Vaccines are mainly intended for those exposed to monkeypox. THL will give a more detailed recommendation on vaccination when the vaccines have arrived in the country, Virkku says by email.
Infection requires long-lasting close contact
Director of the Vaccine Research Center Mika Rämet considers that Finland is not late in preparing for monkeypox, even though vaccines have not yet arrived.
– Monkeypox is very poorly contagious. Long-lasting close contact is needed for infection to occur, says Rämet.
According to Rämet, it is unlikely that monkeypox will spread widely through the population like the corona virus. That’s why in Finland we manage with small amounts of vaccines, at least at this stage.
– With this information, there is no need for extensive vaccination of healthcare personnel in Finland, says Rämet.
According to Rämet, large-scale vaccination of gay and bisexual men may not be necessary yet.
This year, the vast majority of monkeypox infections outside of Africa have been acquired through sex. Infections have been found especially in men who have sex with men.
According to THL, it is likely that the risk of infection increases if there are many sexual partners.
When the availability of vaccines improves, some healthcare workers working with people with monkeypox and some risk groups can be vaccinated.
There are more than 20 infections in Finland
So far, more than 20 monkeypox infections have been found in Finland. Until now, most of the infections in Finland have been acquired abroad.
Spain reported Europe’s first monkeypox-related deaths at the end of July.
Monkeypox occurs in Africa from time to time. Outside of Africa, it has spread through animals and tourism.
The EU distributes vaccines according to the disease situation
Finland receives the vaccines as part of the EU’s joint procurement. So far, the EU has bought more than 160,000 vaccine doses for the member countries.
THL’s expert doctor Anniina Virkku says that the availability of vaccines is limited, at least in the initial stages. The vaccines are distributed to the EU countries in the order according to the disease situation in each country.
Vaccines have already been distributed to the countries where there have been the most cases of monkeypox.
– It is good that there is a European joint procurement. The vaccine can be delivered to an area in Europe where there are the most cases, says Mika Rämet.
Some countries bought vaccines before joint procurement
A vaccine called Jynneos is coming to Finland. It is manufactured by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic.
For example, France has bought 250,000 vaccine doses and Britain 130,000.
The United States has ordered millions of doses of monkeypox vaccine from a Danish company. Bavarian Nordic announced (you switch to another service) in mid-July that it will deliver 2.5 million more vaccine doses to the United States. According to the release, the United States has ordered nearly seven million vaccine doses for the years 2022 and 2023.
In Britain, the vaccine is recommended for three groups
In Britain, the authorities have accelerated the pace of vaccination in London in order to break the chains of infection as quickly as possible.
Since there are limited vaccines, in Britain, at least initially, the aim is to give one vaccine dose to as many people as possible.
The Jynneos vaccine is given in two injections. An injection interval of at least four weeks is recommended.
New types of vaccines are coming to Finland
Monkeypox is a close relative of smallpox. When previously vaccinated against smallpox, protection against monkeypox was obtained at the same time.
– In that sense, it is not particularly surprising that monkeypox starts to multiply when smallpox vaccinations have been abandoned, says Mika Rämet.
The vaccines coming to Finland in the near future are new smallpox vaccines. They also provide protection against monkeypox.
The key difference between the new vaccines and the old ones is that the virus in the vaccine has been modified in such a way that it is unable to reproduce and cause diseases in, for example, immunocompromised people.