BRUSSELS, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Monday said it had secured over 10,000 tecovirimat vaccines against monkeypox, despite the declining number of cases in the European Union (EU).
The Commission said the emergency procurement adds to the 334,000 vaccines already purchased by the EU.
The purchase was funded by the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) to treat patients in the member states with immediate needs.
European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides said that while the declining number of monkeypox cases in the EU is encouraging, it does not mean that the threat has passed, and the EU should continue to focus on preparedness.
Meanwhile, Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said: "Monkeypox is one of the priority threats identified as part of the rescEU strategic reserves. These batches of monkeypox antivirals will offer an additional level of protection for our citizens. The stocks will be available to the Member States on an urgent-needs-basis."
