Global health officials expect the first mpox shots to reach the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENTThe Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will receive its first doses of mpox vaccine from the European Union on Thursday, according to global health officials.
The EU has pledged to procure and donate more than 175,000 vaccines to African health authorities to combat an mpox outbreak that is centred in the DRC but is also affecting other countries in the region.
Spain, France, and Germany have also pledged to send 100,000 doses each, while the United States, Japan, and drug manufacturers will also donate shots.
The European doses are the first to reach the DRC, and the central African country’s health ministry is expected to begin vaccinating people this weekend, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists on Wednesday.
“WHO is working with our partners to coordinate vaccine demands, share information on doses available, and ensure those doses are directed to areas where they can contribute to controlling the outbreak,” he said.
The campaign faces some logistical hurdles. The vaccines, which come from Danish vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic, are shipped frozen at -25°C to -15°C and must be kept in cold storage upon arrival.
Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO is working to ensure cold-chain storage is in place so that health authorities can deploy the doses widely, and that it is developing information campaigns to promote vaccination and trying to help other countries access the shots.
More vaccines will be needed to cover all vulnerable people in the region. According to the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 24,000 suspected or confirmed mpox cases and 617 deaths this year in 13 African countries.
“We call on countries with stockpiles of vaccines to work with us and our partners to get those vaccines where they are needed now,” Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
But vaccines alone won’t be enough to stop the outbreak, he added. The WHO previously outlined a $135 million (€121 million) plan to contain mpox, including stronger disease surveillance and access to diagnostic tests, and expects to release more details later this week.
Last month, the WHO classified the mpox outbreak as a global health emergency.
Mpox can cause fever, chills, aches, and skin lesions. It mainly spreads through close skin-to-skin contact, including sexual contact.
