US signs $11 million deal for monkeypox vaccine

The US Department of Health and Human Services has reached an $11 million agreement with US-based firm Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing (GRAM) for the smallpox and monkeypox vaccine called JYNNEOS. In a statement, Secretary Xavier Becerra stated that they signed an $11 million agreement with GRAM and that GRAM will produce the necessary materials for the vaccine and train the necessary personnel. Becerra said in his statement, "This agreement will provide us with the vaccine production capacity we need to end the current outbreak as soon as possible." The Biden administration had ordered 5 million doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine from a warehouse in Denmark. According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the monkeypox outbreak has now spread to all 50 states in the country. There have been 15,400 cases in the country to date.