Rwanda has taken a significant step in combating the mpox outbreak by administering the first African doses of the mpox vaccine to several hundred high-risk individuals.
Gatekeepers News reports that according to Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC), the initial 300 doses were given out on Tuesday near the Democratic Republic of Congo border, where high-risk populations reside.
Kaseya emphasised the urgency of stopping the outbreak, stating, “This outbreak must be stopped very quickly.”
He also highlighted the need for local vaccine production, saying, “We also need this vaccine to start to be manufactured in Africa, and we are working strongly and closely with our manufacturers and also our partners to have these vaccines manufactured from one of the African countries”.
The vaccination campaign, announced by Rwanda’s ministry of health, targets health workers, cross-border business operators, hospitality workers, and other high-risk groups.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has been at the epicenter of the outbreak in Africa, with 2,912 new cases and 14 deaths recorded in the last week, bringing the total to 6,105 cases and 738 deaths since the beginning of the year.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), has called for international collaboration to stop the spread of the virus, saying, “International collaboration and support are needed to stop the spread of the virus”.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is expected to start its vaccination campaign in October, with 165,000 doses already delivered and hundreds of thousands more pledged by European countries.
Previously, the United States government donated 10,000 doses of the mpox vaccine to Nigeria in August to support efforts in responding to the current outbreak
