As monkeypox outbreaks continue to pose a public health threat, a key question remains: should teenagers be included in vaccination plans? A new study is trying to answer that by testing the standard JYNNEOS vaccine in adolescents for the first time. The research involved about 450 healthy people who had never received a smallpox or monkeypox vaccine before. About 315 were teenagers between 12 and 17, and the rest were adults aged 18 to 50. The adults served as a comparison group, as the vaccine is already licensed for their use. All participants received the standard two-dose regimen of the vaccine, given a month apart. The main goal was to see if the vaccine triggers a similar immune response in teens as it does in adults and to carefully track any side effects they experience. It's important to know that this is an early, Phase 2 study. It was open-label, meaning everyone knew they were getting the vaccine, and it didn't use a placebo group for comparison. The specific results on how well the vaccine worked and how safe it was for the teens are not yet available from this data. This research is a necessary first step to gather evidence before any decisions can be made about offering this vaccine to younger people.
Phase 2 trial assesses JYNNEOS vaccine in adolescents for monkeypox preventionIs the monkeypox vaccine safe and effective for teenagers?
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A Phase 2, open-label, non-placebo controlled, multi-site clinical trial investigated the MVA-BN vaccine (JYNNEOS) for monkeypox prevention. The study enrolled 450 healthy, vaccinia-naïve participants: approximately 315 adolescents aged 12-17 years and approximately 135 adults aged 18-50 years. The adult comparator group also included 76 adults from a prior stage, totaling 211 adults. All participants received the licensed 2-dose subcutaneous regimen of 1 x 10^8 TCID50 MVA-BN on Day 1 and Day 29.
The primary outcomes were immunogenicity, measured by Vaccinia Virus Specific Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test (PRNT) Geometric Mean Titer (GMT), and safety, assessed by the number of adolescents reporting solicited and unsolicited adverse events by severity and relationship to the product. Secondary outcomes and the duration of follow-up were not reported. The main results for immunogenicity and safety endpoints are not provided in the available data.
Safety and tolerability data, including adverse events, serious adverse events, and discontinuations, were not reported. The study was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Key limitations include its open-label, non-placebo controlled design and the absence of reported efficacy or safety results. The practice relevance is to inform public health decisions regarding JYNNEOS use for monkeypox prevention and outbreak mitigation, but clinical application awaits results from more definitive trials.