The number of monkeypox cases in Spain is well over 2,000. With this number, Spain is the worst affected country in the world when it comes to the monkeypox virus. The WHO will discuss next week whether the outbreak should be considered an international emergency.
On June 9, the Spanish Ministry of Health gave the green light to start vaccinating against monkeypox. At that time, there were 233 confirmed cases but there were insufficient vaccines, significantly reducing the target population for vaccination.
The health coordination centre CCAES reported 2,447 cases of monkeypox in Spain on Tuesday, half of them in Madrid. With this number, Spain is officially the worst-hit country in the world when it comes to monkeypox.
Spain closes private deal on vaccines with the Netherlands
Even before the green light from the Spanish government, it turned out that Spain had bought 200 doses of Imvanex branded vaccines from the Netherlands. This was reported by the news site Elindependiente.com. This purchase was part of a joint agreement made between Spain and the Netherlands.
The agency says that this purchase was an emergency measure. This was because just after the monkeypox outbreak, far too few vaccines were available on the regular market. The AEMPS does not specify the actual costs due to the confidentiality of the agreement, but does indicate that the amount was below the price that the Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic A/S asked the Netherlands.
Although it concerns a delivery of ‘only’ 200 doses, the lower purchase price was a reason for a request for transparency from the Ministry of Health. The explanation of this remarkable purchase was given on Wednesday on the portal of the Spanish drug agency AEMPS.
Spain gets more than 11% of vaccines distributed across Europe
More than a month after the Spanish government approved the vaccine, Spain received a shipment of 5,300 doses from the European Commission. Ultimately, Brussels will donate 12,420 doses to Spain. The remaining vaccines will be delivered in July and August. This is 11.2% of the 110,000 doses that the EC has bought from the Danish pharmaceutical company.
The World Health Organisation is meeting next week to determine whether the outbreak should be labeled an “international public health emergency.” More than 9,200 official cases are currently known in 63 countries.
