The Democratic Republic of Congo receives its first shipment of Mpox vaccines in Kinshasa, marking a crucial step in the fight against the viral disease and strengthening public health efforts.
Thursday marked the official delivery of the initial 100,000 doses of mpox vaccine to Congo’s capital, arriving three weeks after a global emergency was declared due to an outbreak affecting twelve African countries.
Around 380,000 doses of mpox vaccines have been pledged by Western allies such as the European Union and United States.
Nonetheless, the quantity makes up for less than 15% of Congo’s required three million doses to manage outbreaks of mpox in the midst of a worldwide health emergency.
Laurent Muschel, Director-General of HERA, made an announcement to the media at the airport stating that they were delivering 100,000 doses of Mpox vaccine which will be arriving at Kinshasa airport by 12:10 PM. Another flight with added quantities of 100,000 is scheduled for Saturday during the same time. To tackle mpox crisis in Democratic Republic Congo a total amounting to 200 thousand dosages have been arranged within just two weeks after Africa CDC and WHO declared continental & international health emergency. They are taking action towards providing necessary vaccines protecting people who are most prone to risk factors.”
Bavarian Nordic, a Danish company, produced 100,000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine that were generously gifted to HERA – EU’s health emergency agency -by the European Union.
Over 22,800 cases of mpox and 622 deaths were reported by the organization last week. The continent saw a surge in infections with a steep rise of 200% within just one week.
The highest number of cases and deaths have been reported in Congo, the country where the new mpox strain was initially detected. Additionally, a large proportion of infections affect children under 15 years old.
After the worldwide mpox epidemic in 2022, affluent countries promptly supplied vaccines and treatments from their stockpiles.
Despite urgent requests from African governments, only a restricted number of doses have been delivered to the continent.
READ ALSO: U.S. Vaccine Support for MPOX: A Positive Step, but Further Action Required
Europe and the United States have both administered the MVA-BN vaccine, which has been sanctioned by the E.U. for adult usage.
At present, the European Medicines Agency is scrutinizing further information that may grant approval for administering it to adolescents aged between 12 and 17. Such a decision could be reached by the conclusion of this month.
The U.S. gifted Nigeria with 10,000 mpox vaccine doses last week to combat the disease’s high prevalence in the country.
Since the outbreak started, this is the initial recorded donation to Africa. According to Nigeria CDC, there have been 40 cases of smallpox reported in Nigeria this year.
According to Dr. Dimie Ogoina, the chair of WHO’s monkeypox emergency committee, Mpox (also known as monkeypox) had been spreading across Africa for several years without much attention until it caused an outbreak in over 70 countries in 2022.
Although the previous outbreak focused mainly on gay and bisexual men, mpox in Africa has now spread through sexual contact as well as close contacts involving children, pregnant women, and other susceptible groups.
According to Ogoina, while individuals over 50 may have received smallpox vaccinations that could potentially provide some defense against mpox, Africa’s mainly youthful population remains vulnerable as they are largely unvaccinated.
A coordinated response plan for the outbreaks is being developed by Africa CDC, and it will be presented to African leaders at a meeting in September for their consideration.
