What’s in mon­key­pox names? His­to­ry, tra­di­tion­al con­ven­tion and even sit­com sug­ges­tions

The Covid-19 pan­dem­ic and rush to vac­cines cre­at­ed a stir with a raft of un­usu­al and me­dia-de­bat­ed names in­clud­ing Mod­er­na’s Spike­vax, Pfiz­er’s Comir­naty and As­traZeneca’s Vaxzevria.

Now mon­key­pox drug names are in the news — al­though both the lead­ing vac­cine Jyn­neos and the spe­cial use treat­ment Tpoxx have been around for years. Jyn­neos was ap­proved as pro­tec­tion against small­pox and mon­key­pox in 2019, while Tpoxx was ap­proved as an an­tivi­ral to treat small­pox in 2018.

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