Mpox vaccination in DR Congo to start on October 2

KINSHASA, DR Congo | Xinhua | The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the “epicenter” of the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa, will launch its first phase of the vaccination campaign on Oct. 2, the government announced late Friday.

The vaccination effort, which runs until Oct. 11, follows the receipt of over 265,000 doses from international partners, according to the minutes of the weekly council of ministers meeting.

“The process of procuring 3,000 doses of vaccines for children is sufficiently advancing,” the minutes said.

A report released Friday by the Congolese Ministry of Health revealed that the DRC, considered the “epicenter” of the current mpox outbreak, has reported 21,813 suspected cases, including 716 deaths since the start of 2024, accounting for about 90 percent of cases in Africa.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the approval of the MVA-BN vaccine, developed by Bavarian Nordic A/S, as the first mpox vaccine added to its prequalification list.

The ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the WHO in mid-August, with the emergence of the poorly understood but more dangerous clade 1b variant, first detected in the DRC in September 2023. This strain has since been reported in countries including Sweden and Thailand. ■