The availability of the smallpox vaccine for those at risk of monkeypox could increase five-fold by changing the way it is administered through the skin.
The rollout of the vaccine in Ireland was announced last month in response to the increasing monkeypox epidemic. There is currently a global shortage of the vaccine as cases of the virus rise across Europe.
However, The European Medicines Agency has now recommended people receive the vaccine just underneath the skin in order to preserve doses for wider use. The vaccine has previously been given as a subcutaneous injection, which requires the needle to strike deep within the fatty tissue of a person’s arm.
