The Department of Disease Control (DDC) has allocated a budget of 21 million baht to purchase 3,000 doses of mpox vaccine.
The MVA-BN vaccine from Denmark is expected to arrive in four months and will be administrated to high-risk people, said Dr Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, the director-general of the department.
The vaccine is intended to control the disease, which means that it is not necessary for everyone. It will be given to high-risk groups only under medical guidelines, he said.
The first high-risk group involves pre-exposure, which includes disease control staff working at international airports, border station health-check units, medical workers and staff working at laboratories.
The second group involves post-exposure prophylaxis, such as people who have had close contact with mpox patients.
Dr Thongchai said that since no business has applied to import the mpox vaccine in Thailand, the Disease Control Act empowers the department to import medications or vaccines without requiring approval Food and Drug Administration approval, in order to combat disease.
The MVA-BN vaccine has been modified from smallpox vaccine and might not be 100% effective in preventing infections but it could lessen the severity of the illness, he said. Avoiding close contact with people suspected of being infected is the best way to stay safe, he added.
The disease does not make people critically ill, except for those with severely compromised immune systems, such as people living with HIV/Aids. All 13 deaths in the country have been associated with HIV/Aids patients.
“We’ve found the rate of the disease spreading is very low in the country, with only 833 cases from January 2022 until now, comprising 812 in men and only 21 in women,” said Dr Thongchai.
“Infections happen in the event of very close skin contact for a certain period, and most cases are found among men and sex workers. Hence, it is not necessary to vaccinate everyone.”
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