France will begin selective vaccination of health workers and people who have had contact with those diagnosed with monkeypox, Health Minister Brigitte Bourguignon announced on Wednesday, May 25.

Authorities have so far confirmed five cases of the virus, but Bourguignon said the Health Ministry “was not expecting an outbreak of the disease.” “At the moment the situation is under control and we are on high alert. Health professionals and agencies have been given recommendations to identify, detect, report and isolate cases at home,” the minister told German channel RTL.

Bourguignon added that his ministry would follow recommendations from the French National Health Authority (HAS), an independent public body, to vaccinate adults and health professionals after exposure to the disease.

He also pointed out that, unlike the coronavirus, vaccination against monkeypox would not be carried out for the entire population, but would be “an operation aimed at healthcare professionals and contact cases.”

To reduce person-to-person transmission of the virus, HAS recommended this Tuesday implementing a reactive vaccination strategy around confirmed cases, which includes adults who come into contact with infected people and exposed healthcare professionals who are deemed at risk.

Authorities explain that ideally the vaccine should be administered within four days of contact with an infected person and a maximum of 14 days later. Since early May, cases of the virus have been detected in nine European Union countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands, as well as in the UK, Canada, Australia, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

*Aicha Sandoval Alaguna contributed to writing this note

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