The 99,000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine, manufactured by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic, have been donated through HERA, the EU agency for health emergencies, and have already arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The first batch of mpox vaccines has arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, three weeks after The World Health Organization will declare a global emergency mpox outbreaks in 12 African countries.
The 99,000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccinemanufactured by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic, were donated by the European Union through HERA, “This will be the first delivery of the vaccine to the country. The second delivery, of about 100,000 doses, is expectedwill arrive in the coming days,” declared European Commission spokesperson Stefan de Keersmaecker.
“These deliveries They are part of the 215,000 doses of vaccines that the European CommissionThe Congolese authorities confirmed that another 100,000 doses are expected to be delivered on Saturday.
The vaccination campaign will begin soon
UNICEF will be in charge of the campaign of vaccination in the most affected provinces, as Roger Kamba, Minister of Health of the Congo, told the press after the delivery of the vaccine. But it was unclear when the vaccination campaign would begin.
Western partners such as the European Union and the United States have promised about 380,000 doses of mpox vaccinesDr. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters last week.
This supposes less than 15% of the three million doses which, according to the authorities, are needed to end Congo smallpox outbreaksepicenter of the global health emergency.
Last week, the organization stated that there had been more than 22,800 cases of monkeypox and 622 deaths on the continent, and that infections had skyrocketed by 200% in the last week.
Most cases and deaths have occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the virus was first detected. new variant of monkeypox and where the majority of infections occur in children under 15 years of age.
Following the global mpox outbreak in 2022, rich countries responded quickly with vaccines and treatments from their stockpiles. However, only a few doses have reached Africa despite requests from governments on that continent. According to the EU, The MVA-BN vaccine has already been used in Europe and the United States, and its use is authorized in adults.
The European Medicines Agency is examining additional data to be able to administer it to children from 12 to 17 years oldwhich could happen at the end of the month. 215,000 doses were promised, which were purchased for an undisclosed amount specifically to donate to the Congosaid Laurent Muschel, Director General of HERA.
Last week, The US announced that it had donated 10,000 doses of mpox vaccines to Nigeriawhere the disease is common. It is the first known donation to Africa since the current outbreaks. Nigeria has recorded 40 cases of the virus this year, according to the Nigerian CDC.
He mpoxformerly known as monkeypoxhad been spreading for years Africa undetected, before the disease caused the outbreak of 2022 in more than 70 countries, Dr. Dimie Ogoina, chair of the WHO emergency committee on mpox, told reporters last month.
Additional sources • Enrique Barrueco (Voice-over)
