The US will donate one million doses of Mpox vaccine to stop the epidemic in Africa
US President Joe Biden will announce on Tuesday the donation of 1 million doses of Mpox vaccine and at least $500 million to African countries to support them in their response to the epidemic, according to a senior administration official, quoted exclusively by Reuters .
The US will donate one million doses of Mpox vaccine to stop the epidemic in Africa
Biden will make the announcement in New York, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly, and will call on other countries to follow suit, the person told Reuters.
In August, the World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak of viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo that spread to neighboring countries and beyond, including India, sparking concerns.
“It wouldn’t be a huge surprise if there was a case in the United States as well,” the official said, noting that recent cuts to pandemic support by Congress could hamper a domestic response.
“We are under a lot of pressure now to be able to respond effectively at this moment. And I think the anticipation of potential further reductions in the future will make it increasingly difficult for us to have a robust response to these types of outbreaks.”
Mpox can spread through close contact. Usually a mild disease, it is fatal in rare cases. It causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.
The Congo epidemic began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as Clade I. But a new variant, Clade Ib, appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
The doses donated by the US are expected to be from the Bavarian Nordic vaccine, known as Jynneos in the United States, and many will come from a stockpile in the United States. The 1 million doses are in addition to the 60,000 vaccines previously donated. The US official said the administration expects Gavi, a public-private alliance that co-finances the purchase of vaccines for low-income countries, to distribute the donated vaccines.
“We strongly believe that Gavi is the multilateral institution best placed to procure and distribute vaccines equitably,” the official said. Last week, Gavi said it would buy 500,000 doses of the vaccine from Bavarian Nordic, its first purchase to help fight the epidemic.
The Biden administration is also pushing for more vaccines to be manufactured in low- and middle-income countries and is working with Brazil to identify how the Group of 20 can support the smallpox response.
Currently, there is no manufacturer in Africa that can produce the complex medicinal substance needed to manufacture the vaccine, the US official said.
Source: www.mediafax.ro
