Some countries have begun to use smallpox vaccines to protect people exposed to the monkeypox virus. But researchers see challenges ahead.
Credit: Christinne Muschi/Reuters
But there are unknowns and challenges that come with this strategy, says Natalie Dean, a biostatistician at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Although the vaccines are considered safe and effective for use in people with smallpox infection, they have had limited testing against monkeypox. The strategy also relies on rigorous contact tracing, which might not be implemented in every country, and people must agree to be inoculated with vaccines that can trigger rare, but serious, side effects.
At the moment, the risk posed by monkeypox to the general public isn’t high enough to warrant mass vaccination, given the side effects and availability issues, says Daniel Bausch, the director of emerging threats and global health security at FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics in Geneva, Switzerland.