Iceland is likely to order the Monkeypox vaccine, but it is not for everyone

Iceland will almost certainly join the European Union's collaborative program to purchase and acquire doses of Imvanex for use in monkeypox diseases, according to RÚV. There have been no monkeypox cases reported in Iceland at this time.

Although the Ministry of Health is hesitant to embrace mass vaccination, it has suggested that persons who have been exposed to monkeypox and perhaps other select groups be vaccinated. General vaccination against the virus, on the other hand, is not required.

“There is a multi-country outbreak of monkeypox impacting North America, European Economic Area (EEA) countries, and the United Kingdom,” according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. “This is the first time that there are chains of transmission in Europe without an understandable epidemiologic connection to West or Central Africa.”

The disease is passed from monkey to human via direct contact, and it's named for the fact that it was originally discovered in monkeys. However, monkeypox isn't typically easily spread among people.

The most recent outbreak, which has affected approximately 200 people across over 20 countries where monkeypox is not endemic, is particularly worrisome because the virus rarely spreads outside of West and Central Africa. 

Some of the symptoms of monkeypox disease include muscle aches, back pain, lymph node swelling, asthenia, fever, exhaustion, chills, and headache.

Fortunately, existing smallpox vaccinations deliver substantial safety against monkeypox. In Europe and the United States, Bavarian Nordic is one of the few companies allowed to administer its smallpox vaccine, which it calls Imvanex. 

Iceland, like all EU member states, would receive a proportional share of the vaccine that the EU purchases for countries taking part in the program comparable to what happened during the coronavirus.