The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a call for manufacturers of mpox vaccines to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for Emergency Use Listing (EUL).
According to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,WHO Director-General,announced that he had triggered the process for EUL of mpox vaccines given worrying trends in the diseaseโs spread.
He expressed concerns over the growing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that has expanded outside the country.This shows that new viral strain, which first emerged in September 2023, has for the first time been detected outside DRC.
According to WHO,the EUL procedure is an emergency use authorization process, specifically developed to expedite the availability of unlicensed medical products like vaccines that are needed in public health emergency situations which is a time-limited recommendation that is based on a risk-benefit approach.
WHO is urging vaccine manufacturers to submit data that meet the vaccines standards of being safe, effective, of assured quality and suitable for the target populations.
Additionally, WHO emphasized that granting of an EUL will accelerate vaccine access particularly for those lower-income countries that aret yet to establish their own national regulatory approval which will also enable partners like Gavi and UNICEF to procure vaccines for distribution.
WHO confirmed that Mpox which is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus that can be transmitted to humans through physical contact with someone who is infectious, with contaminated materials, or with infected animals.
