The Swedish government has tasked the Public Health Agency of Sweden with maintaining a national supply of mpox vaccine, ensuring preparedness should the infection rate change. The decision, announced today, aims to secure both public and regional safety through continued access to vaccination resources.
Social Minister Jakob Forssmed stated that the directive provides Sweden with the capacity to manage the situation if the infection rate shifts. “By securing access to the vaccine, we create security for both the population and the regions,” Forssmed said.
The mandate includes maintaining a national stockpile of previously donated and purchased vaccine doses, ready for deployment in the event of increased transmission. The Public Health Agency will also update the national plan for vaccine distribution to regions, a plan initially developed by the agency. Ongoing assessments of future vaccine procurement and national storage needs are also included in the directive.
This move follows the confirmation of a case of the more severe clade 1 variant of mpox in Sweden in August 2024, as reported by the Public Health Agency and highlighted by Minister Forssmed during a press conference. The case, identified in the Stockholm area, was linked to travel in an African region experiencing a significant outbreak of clade 1. At the time, officials noted that this was the first diagnosed case of clade 1 outside of the African continent.
In August 2024, Sweden already had vaccine supplies available, according to Minister Forssmed and was closely monitoring the situation. However, a September 2024 report indicated that Sweden had declined to donate vaccine doses, citing a report from the Public Health Agency. The decision contrasted with calls from the European Union’s Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides for member states to donate surplus doses to countries in necessitate.
The Public Health Agency is required to submit a final report on the implementation of this directive to the Swedish Government by September 1, 2030.
