Romania receives 5,000 monkeypox vaccines

Romania received 5,060 doses of the vaccine against monkeypox on Thursday, September 15. The delivery was made due to a donation contract with the European Commission, and the doses will go to infectious disease hospitals in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi, Timişoara, and Constanţa.

The vaccine is meant for people who had direct contact with people confirmed to have monkeypox. The shots are done preferably within 4 to14 days after the initial exposure.

Doses will be spread to each region of the country, according to the Romanian Ministry of Health, cited by HotNews. The infectious disease hospitals, which will receive the vaccines first, can send doses to other hospitals if needed.

An outbreak of monkeypox has been ongoing in several countries around the world since May 2022. The prime avenue that the virus spreads is close skin-to-skin contact, but it can also spread through touching objects.

According to the FDA, “people with monkeypox get a rash that may be painful or itchy and that may be located anywhere on the body. Some people also get flu-like symptoms. Monkeypox can spread until the rash has healed, all scabs have fallen off, and a fresh layer of skin has formed.”

Vaccination against smallpox was demonstrated through several observational studies to be about 85% effective in preventing monkeypox, according to the World Health Organization.

37 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in Romania so far.

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