Monkeypox task force recommends sprucing up research infrastructure for developing indigenous vaccine

GS Paper 2 and 3

Syllabus: Issues related to development of infrastructure related to Health, monkeypox, smallpox etc

 

Directions: UPSC may ask about monkeypox and smallpox and virus involved etc

Source: The Hindu

 

Context:

• With at least eight cases of the monkeypox virus reported out of India, a task force of the experts constituted by the Center has laid out plans to fund research in developing the critical infrastructure needed for preparing an indigenous vaccine.
• The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak as a public health emergency, experts at a meeting reckoned that monkeypox was unlikely to immediately require mass vaccination.

 

Background:

• JYNNEOS to be used for monkeypox: Danish biotech company, Bavarian Nordic, has developed a smallpox vaccine, called JYNNEOS, that has been tested for safety in people and effectiveness against monkeypox in the laboratory, and has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
• Lack of specific knowledge: In the case of SARS-CoV2, the genome of the virus was rapidly analyzed and deciphered from which scientists figured out the central role played by the spike protein in infecting healthy lung cells.
  • This served as the basis for subsequent vaccines, though they employed various approaches.
  • This level of specific knowledge isn’t yet available for a potential monkeypox vaccine.
• Old vaccine not acceptable by modern standards: The old smallpox vaccines had a risk profile that wouldn’t be acceptable by modern standards.
  • A killed-virus is the easiest approach because the steps are known though we don’t yet know how effective this would be for monkeypox.
• 85 % genome matching: Officials said the genomic sequence of the Indian strain has a 99.85% match with the West African strain circulating globally.

 

 

Insta Links:

Types of Vaccines

 

Practice Questions:

Q. What are the research and developmental achievements in applied biotechnology? How will these achievements help to uplift the poorer sections of the society?(UPSC 2021)