The US Food and Drug Administration announced, on Tuesday, that health regulators have allowed the monkeypox vaccine to be injected in a new way to be in the skin in adults, that is, between the layers of the skin, rather than under it, in an attempt to boost a low supply of vaccines.
Health officials said at a White House news conference that the emergency use authorization for the North Bavarian Monkey Pox Genius vaccine (BAVA.CO) would increase available doses fivefold because it uses only a small portion of the dose, but provides the same protection.
The FDA authorization comes after the United States and the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a public health emergency to bolster the response against the outbreak.
Genius was approved in 2019 for the prevention of smallpox and monkeypox in high-risk adults 18 years of age and older.
Under consent, it was to be administered subcutaneously, as two doses.
The agency said that two doses of the vaccine, which are given four weeks apart using the intradermal injection method, will still be needed.
The FDA approval also allows people under the age of 18 to receive the vaccine by subcutaneous injection if they are determined to be at high risk of monkeypox infection.
So far, 80 countries where the virus is not endemic have reported a total of 26,500 cases of monkeypox, according to a Archyde.com tally.