- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that a two-dose regimen of the JYNNEOS vaccine is effective against Mpox
- The finding comes amid a potential outbreak of the disease this summer
- One dose of the vaccine was found to be 75% effective, while two doses were 86% effective
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found in a new study that a two-dose vaccine regimen from JYNNEOS is highly effective in fighting against Mpox amid a potential summer outbreak.
The study found that one dose of the JYNNEOS vaccine was 75% effective against the disease, while a two-dose regimen was 86% effective. The study, which was published on Thursday, included patients who were immunocompromised. One dose of the vaccine distributed among these was found to be 51% effective, while two doses were 70.2% effective.
Two-Dose JYNNEOS Vaccine Found Effective Against Mpox
Officials from the health agency said the study's results showed the importance of at-risk populations receiving vaccinations against the disease. According to ABC News, this was also true in getting a second dose among the people who had only received their first shot before summer.
The report noted that as of Mar. 31, nearly 31,000 cases of Mpox and 42 deaths related to the disease had been recorded following the beginning of the outbreak last year. At the peak of the health crisis, cases sometimes doubled weekly.
Health experts argue that anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, is at risk if they have had direct contact with an individual who was infected with the disease. Officials noted that the outbreak was primarily concentrated in men who have sex with men, which is a group that includes people who identify as gay, bisexual, transgender, and non-binary.
In response, officials advised people who had known exposure to Mpox or anyone at risk of exposure to get vaccinated with the JYNNEOS vaccine. This particular treatment was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2019.
Potential Rise in Mpox Cases in the Summer
The FDA issued an emergency authorization in August last year for using a two-dose JYNNEOS vaccine on high-risk adults. The two shots are typically administered with a four-week gap. However, officials only gave one shot during the outbreak in an attempt to partially vaccinate more people, according to CNN.
The CDC reported that roughly 1.2 million vaccine doses have already been administered. However, only 23% of people considered most at risk across the United States have been fully vaccinated.
Despite the apparent effectiveness of the JYNNEOS vaccine against Mpox, many questions remain unanswered as it was not widely used before the outbreak. None of the conducted studies were randomized controlled trials; some were relatively small-scale.
Health officials need to conduct more work and research to determine just how well the JYNNEOS vaccine works among immunocompromised individuals and how long its protection lasts. They also need to determine whether or not the effects of the vaccine differ depending on how the shots were administered to patients, said the New York Times.
Related Article: CDC Warns of Possible Increase in Mpox Cases
