The Access and Allocation Mechanism for Mpox has initially allocated 899,000 doses of MPox vaccine to nine countries, including Nigeria, in the African region currently hit hard by the Mpox surge.
This was revealed in a joint press statement released Thursday by the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the statement, the decision, in cooperation with infected and donor countries, is aimed at ensuring effective and equitable use of the limited doses with the overall objective of controlling outbreaks.
It also said that the African CDC, the Coalition for Innovation in Epidemic Control, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization’s AAM Principal approved the allocation, following the recommendation of the Independent Technical Review Committee of the Continental Incident Management Support Team for Mpox.
The statement added that this decision was based on country readiness and epidemiological data.
The nine countries covered are Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most affected country, with four out of every five confirmed test cases identified in Africa this year.
These minutes are provided by Canada, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain), the European Union Health Emergency Response Agency, and the United States.
The outbreak of Mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries, particularly the surge of virus strain Ib, was declared a public health emergency of international concern by WHO in mid-August and a public health emergency for continental security by the African CDC.
Nineteen African countries have reported Mpox this year, many of them newly affected by the viral disease. The epicenter of the epidemic remains the Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than 38,000 suspected cases and 1,000 deaths have been reported this year.
The report emphasized that vaccination is recommended as part of a comprehensive Mpox control strategy, which also focuses on timely testing and diagnosis, effective clinical care, infection prevention, and involvement of affected communities. Vaccines play an important role and are recommended to reduce transmission and contain outbreaks.
In recent weeks, limited vaccinations have been initiated in the DRC and Rwanda. Limited vaccinations have been initiated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda in recent weeks. This distribution to nine countries is an important step toward coordinated and targeted vaccine deployment to contain the Mpox epidemic.
For most countries, Mpox vaccine deployment is a new venture. Additional resources are needed to implement targeted vaccination. The Mpox AAM partners established last month are working to expand the response. Further distribution of vaccines is expected by the end of the year.
Regarding the supply of vaccines, Mpox Vaccine AAM expects to be able to supply 5.85 million doses of vaccine, including 900,000 doses of vaccine by the end of 2024.
This supply includes contributions from several countries and organizations, including 1.85 million doses of MVA-BN from the European Union, the United States, and Canada; 500,000 doses of MVA-BN from Gavi through the First Response Fund; 500,000 doses procured through UNICEF; and 3 million doses of LC16 vaccine from Japan. contributions from several countries and organizations,” he said.
In August, Nigeria received 10,000 doses of Jynneos Mpox vaccine from the U.S. government.