A vaccinologist at the University of Auckland says the provisional approval of mpox vaccine Jynneos came at a crucial time, as the virus in Africa was starting to “change its behaviour”.
Health Minister Shane Reti said the overall risk to the country remained “low” yesterday as Medsafe gave provisional approval to vaccine Jynneos.
It followed two confirmed cases of mpox found to have “likely links” to Queenstown’s Winter Pride Festival, according to the Government.
University of Auckland associate professor and vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris told Breakfast that while mpox was still a low risk threat in New Zealand, the country was “really lucky to have a vaccine in the arsenal at this stage”.
“Thanks to having had smallpox back hundreds of years ago and right up until mid last century, we did have something in the back pocket kind of pre-prepared I guess, which is actually a cross protective against mpox.
“So it’s good, but we still need to do those other behaviours that prevent it as well.”
She reiterated that the infection was transmitted through “getting up close and personal” with an infected person, and contaminated items such as clothes and bed linen.
She said it was concerning to see how the new clade of mpox spreading through Africa was “changing its behaviour”.
“I think we need to be concerned in that this virus has been changing the way it normally behaves in Africa. There’s different clades and we’re seeing a clade that looks like it has become more infectious.”
Earlier this month, the first batch of mpox vaccines totalling 100,000 doses of Jynneos arrived in the capital of Congo, the centre of the outbreak.
Since the start of 2024, there have been 5549 confirmed mpox cases across the continent, with 643 associated deaths, representing a sharp escalation in both infections and fatalities compared to previous years.
The cases in Congo constituted 91% of the total number. Most mpox infections in Congo and Burundi, the second most affected country, are in children under age 15.
“The [clade] that seems to be spreading more, and there is concern it might make people sicker, has not got here yet but it has started to emerge and the worrying thing is its transmissibility.”
She said the vaccine was “pretty good” and was between 66% to 89% effective.
She said the vaccine was only able to be accessed by people who were deemed “high risk”, such as people who attended the Winter Pride event in Queenstown.
People who believe they may have been exposed to mpox or have symptoms, especially a rash, have been urged to stay home and seek medical advice.