The Democratic Republic of Congo has received its first shipment of mpox vaccines, marking a vital step in tackling an outbreak that has affected the country and led the World Health Organisation to declare a global health emergency last month, Al Jazeera reported.
With a population of around 100 million, Congo is currently at the epicentre of the outbreak, and health officials are relying on the vaccines to help control it.
Mpox has been reported in at least 13 African countries, according to an update from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on August 27, as reported by Al Jazeera.
While speaking to reporters, Congo’s Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba said the newly arrived vaccine had already proven its effectiveness in the United States and would be administered to adults in DR Congo.
“We know which provinces are heavily affected, notably Equateur and South Kivu… The aim is to contain the virus as quickly as possible,” he added.
According to Al Jazeera, the mpox vaccines received by Congo are supplied by Bavarian Nordic, a Danish pharmaceutical company. This vaccine is currently the only one approved for use in Europe and the United States and is available only for adults. However, the company is conducting trials to explore its potential use in children over the age of 12.
Laurent Muschel, head of the EU Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), stated that the first delivery comprises 99,000 doses, with an additional shipment on Saturday bringing the total to 200,000 doses.
“It demonstrates the solidarity between the European Union and Africa, as well as our capacity to respond swiftly,” he added.
According to the WHO, more than 17,500 mpox cases and 629 deaths have been reported in the DRC since the start of the year, with both strains—clade 1b and clade 1a—present in the country.
The WHO also declared an emergency on August 14 due to a surge in cases of the new clade 1b strain.
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