Global vaccine donor purchases 500,000 MPOX vaccines for Africa

Gavi, the vaccine alliance, announced that vaccines for mpox, a disease causing outbreaks in African countries, will arrive later this year. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been the most affected, with a new mutation of the virus emerging in 2023. More than 26,500 cases and 724 deaths have been reported in 15 African countries. Gavi will pay for the doses through its First Response Fund, a $500 million emergency fund created to secure shots for countries facing health crises. This is Gavi’s first purchase from the fund. The vaccines will come from Danish manufacturer Bavarian Nordic and are expected to arrive in 2024. The World Health Organization recently approved the vaccine, allowing donors to buy supplies. The shots will be distributed to the hardest-hit countries based on WHO criteria. Gavi’s purchase brings the total number of pledged vaccines for Africa’s mpox response to over 4.1 million. The Africa CDC estimates 10 million shots will be needed to control the outbreak. Mpox spreads through close contact and can cause various symptoms lasting weeks. Gavi is committed to quickly turning these vaccines into vaccinations with the help of affected governments and partners. A global vaccine stockpile is also being considered. European countries, the United States, and Japan have pledged additional doses for the response.

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