The European Union (EU) health emergency preparedness and response authority (HERA) has committed to donating 215,000 vaccine doses in response to the mpox outbreak in Africa.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the commission said it will donate 40,000 vaccine doses to HERA and procure 175,420 doses of the Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN) mpox vaccine, which is a non-replicating smallpox vaccine and the only mpox vaccine approved in the EU for use in individuals 18 years and older.
The statement adds that “the Africa CDC will distribute the vaccines according to regional needs. Through the Africa CDC, these vaccines will be distributed to affected countries”.
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The EU commissioner for health and food safety, Stella Kyriakides, while asserting that strong global partnerships are at the core of the European Health Union because health threats know no borders, added that preparedness and response to health threats is a global endeavour which they are determined to pursue collectively and with solidarity across borders.
Meanwhile, an Mpox Emergency Operations Center (EOC) meeting organised by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) held on Wednesday August 14, 2024 with key stakeholders like Africa Center for Disease Control (CDC), US CDC, media representatives, government agencies and others attending the hybrid event.
Radio Now’s George Onuorah reports that according to the NCDC, there were 4,603 suspected cases of Mpox between September 2017 and August 2024, of which 1125 were confirmed and 17 deaths.
