Vaccine doses allocated for 9 African countries hardest hit by mpox

(Reuters) - An initial 899,000 vaccine doses have been allocated for 9 countries across Africa that have been hit hard by the current mpox surge, the WHO and other health organisations said on Wednesday.

The WHO declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years in August after a new variant of the virus, called clade Ib, spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries.

In September, after facing criticism on moving too slowly on vaccines, the World Health Organization cleared Bavarian Nordic's vaccine for mpox and said it was considering LC16, made by Japan's KM Biologics as a potential vaccine option.

The WHO also set up a scheme to help bring mpox vaccines, tests and treatments to the most vulnerable people in the world's poorest countries, similar to efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The global health agency said on Wednesday the newly allocated vaccines will go to the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda.

The largest number of doses – 85% of the allocated vaccines – will go to the Democratic Republic of Congo as the most affected country, the WHO said.

The allocated vaccines are from European countries, the United States, Canada and Gavi, a public-private alliance that co-funds vaccine purchases for low-income countries.

According to the latest WHO figures, there have been more than 46,000 confirmed and suspected cases of mpox in Africa this year, and more than 1,000 deaths in the continent due to the viral illness.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)