Investigating the effectiveness of the novel JYNNEOS vaccine in preventing monkeypox infection
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Reviewed by Dat Tien Nguyen, B.A, ScM.
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Posted on July 24th, 2023
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In September 2022, the first case of monkeypox infection was reported in Vietnam. Worldwide, the number of cases have surpassed 100,000; thus, the development of preventive vaccines is the utmost priority. In 2019, the Food and Drug Administration in the United States had approved the usage of the JYNNEOS vaccine, and the Center of Disease Control and Prevention had sponsored a study to assess its effectiveness in preventing monkeypox.
The case-control study included a total of 10,512 participants; 2193 of whom had been diagnosed with monkeypox infection. These cases were matched with 8319 participants in the control group who were demographically matched. The majority of the study participants were between the age of 18 and 35 years old. 25 of the case patients and 335 of the control participants were vaccinated with 2 doses of JYNNEOS, which was spaced 4 weeks apart. After statistical adjustment, the researchers concluded that the effectiveness rate of the JYNNEOS vaccine was 66% in patients who had received the full 2-dose series. In patients who had received at least one dose, the vaccine effectiveness rate was 35.8%. Despite the promising result, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of the trial. First, there are more participants in the case group who were either immunocompromised or HIV-positive than those who were in the control group. Second, the study retrospectively gathers data collected between a span of only 3 months in 2022, so it cannot make a conclusion about the long-term protective effect of the JYNNEOS vaccine. Last, further prospective study is needed to characterize the safety profile of the JYNNEOS vaccine.
The case-control study included a total of 10,512 participants; 2193 of whom had been diagnosed with monkeypox infection. These cases were matched with 8319 participants in the control group who were demographically matched. The majority of the study participants were between the age of 18 and 35 years old. 25 of the case patients and 335 of the control participants were vaccinated with 2 doses of JYNNEOS, which was spaced 4 weeks apart. After statistical adjustment, the researchers concluded that the effectiveness rate of the JYNNEOS vaccine was 66% in patients who had received the full 2-dose series. In patients who had received at least one dose, the vaccine effectiveness rate was 35.8%. Despite the promising result, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of the trial. First, there are more participants in the case group who were either immunocompromised or HIV-positive than those who were in the control group. Second, the study retrospectively gathers data collected between a span of only 3 months in 2022, so it cannot make a conclusion about the long-term protective effect of the JYNNEOS vaccine. Last, further prospective study is needed to characterize the safety profile of the JYNNEOS vaccine.