U.S. orders 500,000 monkeypox vaccines to be delivered this year

The United States has ordered 500,000 more monkeypox vaccine doses for delivery this year, the manufacturer said Friday.

The order is larger than earlier ones to the U.S. — including 36,000 doses to be delivered this week — and represents a significant escalation in the fight against a growing monkeypox outbreak.

The order also brings the number of U.S.-owned doses from 1.4 million to 1.9 million, though many of those are held by manufacturer Bavarian Nordic until the federal government requests them.

The 500,000 new doses will significantly grow U.S.-held stockpiles — which now likely holds around 70,000 doses.

The vaccine will be manufactured using bulk materials owned by the U.S. and stored with the drug maker, the announcement said.

And more doses are on the way in coming years. The bulk materials owned by the U.S. will be made into 13 million freeze-dried doses from 2023-2025.

The CDC has reported 45 cases of monkeypox across 16 states, but officials worry the outbreak could continue to grow as it has in other countries. Several European countries have reported over 100 cases. The global case count, outside of endemic countries, is now over 1,300.

The U.S. order comes as the vaccine is in short supply in many countries — and as several nations work with Bavarian Nordic to ink contracts for more vaccines.

So many governments have ordered doses that Bavarian Nordic improved its financial outlook for the year in the announcement made about the U.S. order. The Danish company was expecting revenue between 1.4 and 1.6 billion Danish Krone and is now forecasting between 1.8 and 2 billion Krone.

And those numbers could continue to rise as the European Union looks to finalize a deal for the vaccine.

Though health officials have noted that monkeypox does not require mass vaccination, those exposed or at high risk of exposure would need the shot, and increasing case counts have significantly increased demand.

The U.S. has large stockpiles of older smallpox vaccines, but the newer vaccines being ordered have been deemed safer and much preferred, leading countries around the world to order.

It has also led the WHO to ask countries to report their stockpiles and consider sharing doses with countries based on need — something the U.S. has not yet made a public decision about.

Other countries have reported having some doses stored and orders out with Bavarian Nordic, but none have announced a number of doses nearly as large as the U.S. — a figure likely to grow over the coming years.