On Friday, the Biden regime announced that they ordered an additional 500,000 more doses of the Jynneos vaccine for monkeypox, amid worsening cases both outside and inside the country.
The U.S. has started shipping vaccines to multiple states to prevent the spread of the virus. And as of Friday, the U.S. had identified 45 cases in 15 states and the District of Columbia. More than 1,300 cases have been found in about 30 other countries outside the areas of Africa where the virus is endemic.
Denmark-based biotech group Bavarian Nordic, the manufacturer of the vaccines, said that the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has placed the order, to be delivered later this year.
Here’s what the company announced on Friday. Many of the 1.9 million doses are being held by the company until the U.S. government requests them.
“With the previous order from BARDA for 1.4 million doses of liquid-frozen JYNNEOS, awarded in 2020, this order will bring the total U.S. inventory of the vaccine to nearly 2 million doses.”
Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response for the Department of Health and Human Services, said during a press briefing that “We have the vaccines and treatments we need to respond.”
Daily Wire reported:
Monkeypox is a rare disease from the same viral family as smallpox that spreads mostly via direct close or sexual contact with an infected person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has suggested in an alert that the threat posed to the general population is “low.” Symptoms of the disease often start out like the flu, but they can also include rashes and swollen bumps on the body and face — which can turn into lesions and leave permanent severe scarring — as well as swelling of lymph nodes.
Back in May, Bavarian Nordic announced that the Biden administration had placed a nearly $120 million dollar order for the company’s smallpox vaccines, which are also effective against monkeypox, according to Fortune. The company also announced that the U.S. has the option to buy $180 million more — working out to be roughly 13 million doses.
Paul Chaplin, president, and CEO of Bavarian Nordic said in a statement:
“We are pleased to announce the exercise of the first options under our contract with the U.S. government to deliver a freeze-dried version of the smallpox vaccine with an improved shelf-life, which will be manufactured at our new fill and finish facility. This marks a significant milestone in our long-standing partnership with the U.S. government to ensure availability of life-saving vaccines for the entire population.”
Last month, cases began emerging in Europe and the United States. Many — but not all — of those who contracted the virus had traveled internationally. Most were men who have sex with men, but health officials stress that anyone can get monkeypox.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that every US case they had looked at involved very close contact. Officials have alerted doctors to watch for monkeypox cases and offered vaccinations to people in contact with those who were infected.
Sources: DailyWire, Associated Press
