Russia has developed a promising vaccine against mpox, which could potentially provide lifelong immunity against the disease.

That’s according to Alexander Gintsburg, the director of the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, which developed the Sputnik V vaccine used in Russia and abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking to TASS, the Russian state-run news agency, Gintsburg said that the vaccine has the potential to provide lifelong protection against mpox, although further research is needed to confirm it. 

Gintsburg drew parallels between the mpox vaccine and the Sputnik V vaccine. He noted that those vaccinated with the original Sputnik V against the initial strain of the coronavirus from Wuhan still maintain high levels of virus-neutralising antibodies nearly four years later. This long-lasting immunity, he suggests, could similarly apply to the mpox vaccine, offering hope that a single vaccination might suffice for lifelong protection against both mpox and smallpox.

However, before this vaccine can be made widely available, further steps are necessary, he said. While the Gamaleya Centre has completed the development of the vaccine, preclinical and clinical trials are still required to ensure its safety and efficacy. Securing funding for these trials is the next critical step, and the process could take about a year.

Monkeypox is a rare but serious viral disease characterised by symptoms such as fever, swollen lymph nodes, and a distinctive rash that progresses from spots to blisters, eventually rupturing to form ulcers. The disease is primarily transmitted from animals to humans, but human-to-human transmission can also occur through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or lesions. The infection typically lasts 2-4 weeks and may resolve on its own without treatment, although severe cases with fatal outcomes can occur, with mortality rates ranging from 3-11%.

Earlier, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian consumer protection watchdog, claimed that there is no risk of mpox spreading in Russia because of “traditional values.”

“Considering the specifics of how mpox is spread, I am absolutely sure that in Russia with its traditional values this disease, which is an epidemic disease, is not something we need to be afraid of,” Popova said, which was taken by many to be a reference to a World Health Organisation statement that the disease has spread quickly through communities of gay men.