Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - In North Rhine-Westphalia, 3880 monkeypox vaccine doses have so far been delivered to the five administrative districts. The vast majority went to the Cologne government district with 2,100 cans, followed by Düsseldorf (960), Münster (420), Arnsberg (320) and Detmold (80). The NRW Ministry of Health announced this on Tuesday at the request of the German Press Agency in Düsseldorf, referring to data up to July 25th.
People with a high risk of infection have been able to be vaccinated against monkeypox free of charge in NRW for a good two weeks. The vaccine was made available to HIV and infection outpatient clinics at the university clinics and corresponding specialist practices. The decision to vaccinate is at the discretion of the physician.
Germany and some other countries had already granted national exemptions for the use of the Imvanex vaccine against monkeypox. Only on Monday did the EU Commission officially approve it for all 27 EU countries for this purpose. Previously, it was only cleared at EU level to protect adults against smallpox. At the weekend, the World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak, which was first registered in May, to be an "emergency of international concern".
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) writes: "It still seems possible to limit the current outbreak in Germany if infections are recognized in good time and precautionary measures are implemented." According to RKI data from Tuesday, 2,410 cases of monkeypox are registered in Germany - according to the State Ministry of Health around 450 of them in North Rhine-Westphalia (as of July 22nd).
The Standing Vaccination Commission in Germany recommends vaccination against monkeypox for certain risk groups and people who have had close contact with infected people. She sees an increased risk of infection in men who have same-sex sexual contact with changing partners. Monkeypox is a viral disease that is mainly associated with symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle and back pain and a rash with blisters or pustules.
