Monkeypox: Vaccine recommended for Canadians at high risk of exposure

Canadians who are at high risk of contracting monkeypox should get a vaccine, according to new guidance from the national body that provides advice to government on immunizations.

Canadians who are at high risk of contracting monkeypox — not just those who have been infected — should get a vaccine, according to new guidance from the national body that provides advice to government on vaccines.

After reviewing the current status of the monkeypox outbreak in Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) came out with new guidelines Friday saying anyone with a high risk of exposure to a probable or confirmed case of monkeypox, or someone who has visited a setting where transmission of the virus is happening, should receive one dose of the Imvamune vaccine.

NACI also said vaccines may be offered to those who are immunocompromised, pregnant or lactating, or children and youth, if they are at a higher risk of exposure.

Imvamune, normally used to treat smallpox, has been approved by Health Canada to treat monkeypox.

Ideally, those who have been exposed to this virus should receive their vaccine within four days of exposure, said Canada’s chief health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, during a briefing Friday in Ottawa.

“The NACI recommendation is for one dose be offered to someone who knows that they’ve been in contact with a case or they’ve been in a high-risk exposure settings,” she said.

The recommendations state a second dose should only be offered in limited circumstances.

Local public health authorities are working with businesses and communities where outbreaks are happening in Canada to identify places where exposures may have occurred, and they are contacting people who may have been exposed to the virus in these locations, Tam said.