THE mpox vaccine may fail against new, deadlier strain, experts warn. They don't know how the jab , credited for helping put an end to the 2022 outbreak, will respond to the new version of the bug. Professor Marion Koopmans, of the pandemic and disaster Centre at the Erasmus Medical Centre, said experts don't know how the new clade 1b mpox virus would react to current jabs.
"The honest answer is we do not know yet," she said. The jab hasn't yet been tested against the more potent version of the bug that's spread across Africa and recently appeared in Europe and Asia. The vaccine is a repurposed version of the jab used to prevent smallpox , a close relative of mpox .
Read more on mpox Experts thought it would work because the viruses are similar, a concept called cross-protection. Since the vaccine was used during an active outbreak of mpox, it's tough to pinpoint its benefit, says Prof Marion. During the 2022 outbreak, tens of thousands of Brits were jabbed against the virus.
Affected groups - which mostly included gay and bisexual men - were also encouraged to take practical steps to lower their risk, like cutting down on new sexual partners . Most read in Health "There is some evidence for clinical efficacy during the vaccinations were given during an evolving outbreak when there are also other things that people do that reduce transmission," Prof Marion said told a news conference. "It's not so easy to say is this full-vaccine protection.
"The hope is that for clade 1b the.