Jynneos vaccine effective against mpox after two doses, studies find

May 18 (UPI) -- Researchers have found a drug recently approved to control mpox is found to be highly effective with just two doses, according to data released Thursday.

The Jynneos vaccine is made by Bavarain Nordic. It was first designed to protect against smallpox, a related but more dangerous virus that was declared eradicated in 1980. Because of similarities in the genetic structures of the two viruses, however, it was believed Jynneos would also protect against mpox.

A study by the New York State Department of Health found that two doses of the Jynneos vaccine was more than 88% effective as an inoculate.

"Mpox cases have declined, but vaccine coverage is still low, and it is unknown how long protection lasts, which means there is a chance for new mpox outbreaks," the research showed.

Mpox spreads in humans through the exposure of infected body fluids, though there is a potential airborne route. Separate research from University Bochum in Germany found the virus could survive at room temperature on a surface for up to 11 days.

Because of the risk from bodily fluids, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last year that homosexual men, bisexuals or other categories of men who prefer same-sex intimacy accounted for the majority of infections.

A broader study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that among those in the at-risk population for adults aged 18-49 across 12 jurisdictions, two doses proved 86% effective against mpox.

The World Health Organization last week said mpox was no longer a global health emergency. U.S. health officials nevertheless called on high-risk individuals who haven't been vaccinated for mpox to do so before a potential resurgence of the virus in the coming months.

Health officials worried that a new surge could be worse than last year, federal modeling has found, but only about 23% of those at high risk for the virus have received vaccines, according to the CDC.

WHO added that efforts to control the spread of mpox were done largely in the absence of outside funding support. They noted it would be difficult to eliminate the virus without additional backing.

The U.N.-backed agency opted to refer to the virus as "mpox" rather than "monkeypox" to avoid racist and stigmatizing language.

Both terms will be used by the WHO for a year as the former term is phased out, according to the organization, which is responsible for assigning names to global diseases.