Monkeypox vaccines in Cyprus will be provided only to those cases considered essential, the Health Ministry clarified on Monday. It is effective against smallpox as well as monkeypox, it also said.
The Ministry then said that this vaccine is good at protecting those who are at high risk for monkeypox from getting infected before exposure and can also lessen the severity of disease post-infection.
Until the recent monkeypox outbreak, the vaccine was primarily given to health care workers or people who have had confirmed or suspected monkeypox exposure.
Health experts say that a number of clinical trials done show that when given to a person, it triggers a strong antibody response.
And an additional study done in nonhuman primates showed that vaccinated animals that were infected with monkeypox survived 80% to 100% of the time, compared with zero to 40% survival in unvaccinated animals.
