As the cases of Monkeypox are on the rise in India, Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Tuesday met Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and said that research to find a vaccine for the disease was underway. He also said that the experts at the SII were analyzing the current need for the vaccine.
“My meeting went well like always. All preparations for the vaccine are being done. I briefed the minister on this. We are researching on the vaccine for Monkeypox and if there’s a need for it”, Adar Poonawalla said on August 2. This is a day after India confirmed the first death of Monkeypox in Kerala.
#BREAKING | Monkeypox: SII CEO Adar Poonawalla meets Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, assures ‘all preparations for the vaccine are being done’.
— Republic (@republic) August 2, 2022
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The 22-year-old man from Kerala who had reached India from UAE on July 22 tested positive for the disease. Unfortunately, he breathed his last while he was undergoing treatment on August 1. After the incident, the Indian government contacted the authorities in the UAE to know how he could board a flight to India despite having declared positive for the infection.
To note, the meeting between SII CEO and the Health Minister comes days after the Indian Council of Medical Research announced an open request for commercial offers for monkeypox vaccine development to protect those most vulnerable. The monkeypox virus was identified from a clinical specimen received from a sufferer at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, which is part of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) also the country’s top medical research organization.
The study is noteworthy because it might lead to the development of diagnostic kits and vaccines for monkeypox infection. Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) leader had advised targeted vaccination for people who have been exposed to monkeypox as well as those who are at high risk of exposure, such as health professionals, and some lab employees. However, the WHO did not suggest widespread vaccination against monkeypox.
According to the WHO director-general, there is still a lack of evidence on vaccination effectiveness or the number of doses needed. The WHO has encouraged all countries that use vaccinations to collect and share this vital information.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has requested expressions of interest (EOI) from interested Indian vaccine makers, pharmaceutical companies, and in-vitro diagnostic industry partners for the development of indigenous immunizations and detection kits against monkeypox.
It is worth noting that MVA-BN which is an authorized vaccine against smallpox, has been approved for use in monkeypox prevention in Canada, the European Union, and the United States. Two more vaccines, LC16 and ACAM2000, are being researched for monkeypox prevention. However, the Indian government has yet to make a recommendation as to who should be vaccinated first or who is regarded to be considered at high risk.
So far, six instances of monkeypox have been reported across India with a Nigerian national living in Delhi testing positive on Monday. The Nigerian hospitalized at Delhi’s nodal Lok Nayak Hospital on Sunday had no history of overseas travel in the previous 21 days.
