New Zealand Secures Monkeypox Medicine, But Finds it Difficult to Get Vaccine Supply

Test tubes labeled "Monkeypox virus positive" are seen in this illustration taken on May 23, 2022. Dado Ruvic/Illustration/Reuters

The New Zealand government has announced it has secured a supply of tecovirimat, the medicine used to treat monkeypox, but was still working to secure a supply of the monkeypox vaccine, known as Jynneos or Imvanex.

Associate Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall said that 504 courses of tecovirimat are expected to be available in the country from late September.

“This medicine will be free and used to treat those who become unwell with MPX (monkeypox),” Verrall said on Aug. 26. “While New Zealand doesn’t currently have any active cases of MPX, and the risk of widespread transmission is low it is important we are prepared.”

She said that while most people who get infected with the disease are able to isolate and recover at home, having access to medicine provided assurance for more serious cases.

The medicine would play a small role in the government’s prepared response to an outbreak, including prevention messaging, testing availability, and contact tracing.

“We are also working hard to secure access to a vaccine, but there is limited global supply, and distribution is being prioritised to those countries experiencing outbreaks, which we currently aren’t,” Verrall said.

She said Labour governments had had a “long history” of supporting its LGBTQIA+ communities and hoped the news would “alleviate some worry” for those at risk of contracting the virus.

So far, New Zealand has reported four cases of monkeypox from people returning overseas. There is currently no evidence of community transmission, according to the Ministry of Health.

Monkeypox is a rare viral illness that does not usually cause serious illness but may still result in hospitalisation or death.

Demand For Monkeypox Vaccine Outpacing Supply

Faced with a supply problem, the United States recently approved a plan for the Jynneos vaccine to be administered by intradermal injection, which delivers the vaccine into the outer layers of the skin and stretches supply by up to five-fold.

Europe’s drug regulator soon followed and adopted a similar approach to allow access to vaccination for more people.

According to a clinical trial of around 500 adults, a smaller dose given through intradermal injection produced similar levels of antibodies as a normal injection that requires five times as much vaccine.

However, the European regulator’s emergency task force noted that questions remain about the efficacy of the intradermal approach for the immunocompromised or people with HIV as the trial was conducted with only “healthy adults.”

The World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency in July. Since it first appeared in May in Europe, it has spread to over 45,000 cases worldwide.

While monkeypox is not typically considered a sexually transmitted disease, there is growing evidence that it is being spread through the sexual activity of gay and bisexual men in the 2022 outbreak.

Given the current limited supply of the monkeypox vaccine, the United States CDC has suggested that gay and bisexual men consider taking a break from sexual activities that might put them at risk.

“These temporary changes will help slow the spread of monkeypox until vaccine supply is adequate,” the CDC webpage reads.

Caden Pearson contributed to this report.