Denmark will soon receive the first doses of a vaccine that is expected to have an effect on people who have been in close contact with someone who has been infected with smallpox, the National Board of Health writes.
The vaccine can be offered to people who live with an infected person or have had sexual intercourse with one, according to the Danish Public Health Agency.
“We recommend vaccination for close contacts, as we expect that it can lead to a milder course of the disease if the person develops smallpox,” says unit manager Bolette Søborg in a press release.
The vaccine has not yet been formally approved by the EU as a vaccine against smallpox. However, it is approved to be used against the closely related disease smallpox, writes the news agency Ritzau.
The Danish vaccine manufacturer Bavarian Nordics, which is behind the vaccine, announced on Tuesday that it plans to apply for an approval to be used against smallpox in the EU.
The vaccine is already approved for use against smallpox in the United States and Canada.
The United Kingdom has also entered into an agreement with the Danish vaccine manufacturer to purchase 20,000 vaccine doses. It states British health authorities, writes Ritzau with reference to Reuters.
According to the European Infection Control Agency ECDC, 118 cases of smallpox had been discovered in the EU on Wednesday. In Sweden, two cases have been confirmed.