Photo Credit: Diy13

One dose of modified vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN) vaccine is effective against mpox in at-risk communities, according to a study published in The BMJ. Christine Navarro, MD, and colleagues estimated real-world vaccine effectiveness in an emulation of a target trial with 9,803 men with a history of syphilis testing and a laboratory confirmed bacterial STI in the previous year or a prescription for PrEP in the previous year. Those who had been vaccinated 15 days previously were matched with unvaccinated men in a 1:1 ratio. A total of 3,204 men who received the vaccine were matched with 3,204 unvaccinated controls. The researchers identified 71 mpox infections, with 0.09 and 0.20 per 1,000 person-days in the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups over 153 days. With one dose, the estimated vaccine effectiveness was 58%. “Our findings strengthen the evidence that MVA-BN is effective at preventing mpox infection and should be made … accessible to at-risk communities,” Dr. Navarro and colleagues wrote.