The monkeypox vaccines are still not advised to be administered to the general public, according to infectious diseases expert Dr. Edsel Salvana.
Salvana, who is also a member of the technical advisory group of the Department of Health (DOH), said that the smallpox vaccine is 85% effective against monkeypox that belongs to the same family group.
He further explained that if an adult individual was vaccinated against monkeypox when they are still young then they will have minimum protection against the said disease.
In the data from the World Health Organization, there are two groups of monkeypox: the West African clade and the Congo Basin clade.
The Congo Basin clade may be more infectious and severe compared to the West African clade for it has a 1000 fatality rate in 100,000 infected by the disease.
The DOH has been continuously coordinating with the WHO to have access to the vaccines for the mentioned viral disease.
