Switzerland looks to secure 40,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine

close

Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for August 24

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

Switzerland plans to procure 40,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine as well as 500 units of an antiviral drug, the government said on Wednesday.

The army simultaneously aims to procure 60,000 vaccine doses and 500 drug doses as part of readiness measures, as the vaccine can also be used in the event of an outbreak of other smallpox viruses, it said.

Switzerland plans on acquiring 40,000 doses of the moneybox vaccine. Pictured, monkeypox vaccine doses are loaded into a syringe by a medical worker at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York, on July 28, 2022. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)

The drugs and vaccines, and their use in civilian health care, will cost approximately 8.6 million Swiss francs ($8.90 million), the government said in a statement.

MONKEYPOX: WHAT YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS — AND HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

There have been more than 400 monkeypox cases registered so far in Switzerland, the statement said. The government expects about 20,000 people will want a vaccine, though it added that estimates are difficult.