Home » DR Congo braces for critical mpox vaccine shipment amid growing health crisis

DR Congo braces for critical mpox vaccine shipment amid growing health crisis

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The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is set to receive its first shipment of nearly 100,000 vaccine doses on Thursday.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is set to receive its first shipment of nearly 100,000 mpox vaccine doses on Thursday. This marks a crucial moment for the Central African nation, which has become the epicenter of the global mpox emergency declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) just last month.

The vaccines, manufactured by Bavarian Nordic and donated by the European Union, are expected to touch down at Kinshasa’s international airport at 11:00 GMT, with more doses arriving by the end of the week. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the delivery timeline, stressing the importance of these vaccines in the fight against the rapidly spreading virus.

“We’ll receive the first batch on Sept 5 and a second one on Sept 7,” Cris Kacita, head of the DRC’s mpox outbreak response, told Reuters, while the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) provided additional details, indicating that more than 99,000 doses are part of the first shipment.

With more than 17,500 cases and 629 deaths reported in the DRC this year alone, the stakes are high. Health authorities are preparing to begin the vaccination campaign by October 8, though logistical challenges, particularly the need to store doses at -90 degrees Celsius (-130 degrees Fahrenheit), have complicated the rollout. “The vaccine will not be distributed as soon as it is received,” Kacita explained, acknowledging the month-long delay before the campaign can commence.

The mpox virus, formerly known as monkeypox, has spread to at least 13 African nations, and just this week, Guinea confirmed its first case. Globally, the virus has also been detected in countries including Pakistan, the Philippines, Sweden, and Thailand.

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Congolese Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba has rallied the nation to take action against the virus, saying on X, “We are in a health war against mpox. To face this disease, we need you.” Children in the DRC and neighboring countries are among the most vulnerable, according to UNICEF.

As the first doses arrive, the initial recipients will likely be contacts of confirmed mpox cases, said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s acting director of epidemic and pandemic prevention. Both clades of the virus—1b and 1a—are currently present in the DRC, posing a significant threat to public health.

With international attention focused on stopping the spread, the DRC’s ability to distribute the vaccines effectively will be pivotal in the global fight against mpox, as the country continues to battle one of its most severe health crises in recent memory.

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