[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] 5,000 doses of the 3rd-generation smallpox vaccine effective against monkeypox will be introduced into the country today.
On the 11th, Baek Kyung-ran, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, stated, "10,000 doses (5,000 doses for 5,000 people) of the 3rd-generation smallpox vaccine produced by the overseas pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic are scheduled to be introduced into the country today through Incheon Airport."
The vaccines introduced domestically will be transported to a designated logistics warehouse located in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, for storage. The vaccine has a shelf life of 5 years.
The 3rd-generation smallpox vaccine 'JYNNEOS' produced by Bavarian Nordic has currently been approved as a monkeypox vaccine in the United States and Europe. In Korea, it will be administered to high-risk groups such as close contacts of confirmed cases and healthcare workers responsible for treatment. Vaccinations can be received at one designated public health center in each of the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces.
JYNNEOS requires two doses per person at 4-week intervals. Unlike the 2nd-generation vaccine, which uses bifurcated needles pressed against the skin surface to be effective, the 3rd-generation vaccine can be administered via a standard subcutaneous injection method. Additionally, it is manufactured using a virus that has been genetically modified to be replication-incompetent and does not use a virus that worsens pathogenicity, resulting in fewer side effects.
On the 1st of last month, JYNNEOS was recognized for emergency introduction after review by the National Essential Medicines Safety Supply Council of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and a supply contract was made on the 20th.
An official from the Central Disease Control Headquarters urged, "To prevent monkeypox, please avoid contact with people suspected of symptoms or confirmed cases, and adhere to personal quarantine rules such as handwashing and wearing masks."
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