The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday announced the MVA-BN vaccine as the first vaccine against mpox to be added to its prequalification list.

"This first prequalification of a vaccine against mpox is an important step in our fight against the disease, both in the context of the current outbreaks in Africa, and in future," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

"We now need urgent scale up in procurement, donations and rollout to ensure equitable access to vaccines where they are needed most, alongside other public health tools, to prevent infections, stop transmission and save lives," he added.