Africa has secured one million Mpox vaccines
Published: Wednesday, Aug 28th 2024, 15:50
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The African health authority CDC Africa has secured one million vaccine doses in view of the rapid spread of the disease Mpox. CDC Director General Jean Kaseya said this on Wednesday at the Africa Regional Meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Brazzaville, Congo. This through commitments from the EU, Germany and other countries
Switzerland has not yet received any direct requests for vaccine donations, so there are currently no plans to pass on vaccines stored in Switzerland to affected countries, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) told the Keystone-SDA news agency.
So far, vaccines have only arrived in Nigeria. An action plan for the entire continent is to be launched on Friday, said Kaseya. At the same time, he warned: "We are still not prepared for another pandemic."
Warning for the next pandemic
Mpox should be seen as a serious warning for the next pandemic, which we should expect in five to ten years, emphasized Kaseya. This makes it all the more important to have our own vaccine production in Africa. This is why the CDC has proposed an African manufacturer for collaboration to Bavaria Nordic, one of the two producers of Mpox vaccines. "We believe that the Mpox vaccine will be produced in Africa very soon."
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus criticized that the fight against Mpox is only now receiving the attention of the international community after cases of the disease have emerged outside of Africa. "We have been calling for more research and the development of diagnostic tests and vaccines for years," he said.
Early diagnosis important
Roger Kamba, the Minister of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is the country most affected by the disease, pointed out the rapid spread of Mpox. While 5,000 cases were registered in 2022, this year there were already more than 17,000. At the same time, the mortality rate has risen from 4.5 to 7.4 percent. "We need to detect as many cases as possible, and as early as possible," emphasized Kamba in view of the limited diagnostic capacities.
In mid-August, the WHO declared the highest alert level due to the Mpox outbreaks in Africa and the new, potentially more dangerous variant Ib. The aim is to encourage authorities around the world to be more vigilant.
©Keystone/SDA
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