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10,000 Mpox Vaccine Doses Are Sent to Nigeria By The US Government.

• By Rich Health News Desk
• August 30, 2024

Nigeria is the first nation in Africa to get a batch of 10,000 doses of a vaccine designed to treat monkeypox, which is now causing an outbreak.

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency earlier this month, but the nation started the process of obtaining the immunizations well before that.

 

The current rapid spread of mpox has primarily affected Africa, and appeals have been made for international bodies to respond to these catastrophes more quickly. Nigeria, which reports that there may be over 700 cases of mpox this year despite only having 40 confirmed cases, received vaccination doses as a gift from the US.

 

There have been no reported virus-related deaths in the West African country. Additionally, there have been no reports of Clade 1b infections, a novel variation that has expanded to neighboring countries from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 

This year, DR Congo, a country in central Africa, has reported 615 fatalities and over 18,000 probable cases of mpox.

 

Although there are currently no vaccines specifically for smallpox, there are effective treatments for the illness that are produced by two pharmaceutical companies.

 

Nigeria said that during the immunization campaign, it will give priority to health personnel and populations that are at risk in the 13 impacted states.

 

According to estimates from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 10 million doses are required throughout the continent, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo having the greatest demand.

 

Governments, scientists, and international health organizations have expressed worry over Clade 1b, but it is still unknown how lethal and contagious the variety is.  If left untreated, mpox can be lethal and produce symptoms like fever, pains in the muscles, and sores all over the body.

 

Critics claim that the WHO's approval process presents a significant obstacle, explaining the delayed delivery of the first vaccinations to Africa. Rather than depending on their own drug regulators, many low- and middle-income nations rely on the WHO to determine whether treatments are safe and effective.

 

However, the New York Times has revealed that the WHO is "painfully risk-averse" and "concerned with a need to protect its trustworthiness". 

 

The last outbreak, which was caused by the Clade 2 variety that was common in Nigeria, began two years ago, but the WHO has not formally authorized the two vaccines that are now on the market because it claims it lacks the necessary evidence to conduct a thorough evaluation.

 

WHO and Africa CDC advisor Professor Helen Rees told the BBC that the WHO's regulatory framework was "not fit for purpose in an emergency."

 

International health organizations, according to her, should "really look" at how they were approving medicinal devices when there was an urgent need for them.

 

The WHO didn't seek vaccine producers to express interest in obtaining an emergency license for mpox shots until this month. WHO's approvals could be expedited as a result.

 

Several experts and public health professionals told news agency Reuters that might have started years ago. In September, the WHO is anticipated to give its mpox emergency licenses.

 

After the 2022 outbreak began, Nigerian health officials launched an early campaign, and as a result, Nigeria received 10,000 of Africa's first vaccines, not the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 

During a news conference in Abuja, the capital, on Wednesday, US Ambassador Richard Mills commended Nigeria for “leading a coordinated effort to respond to the outbreak before it escalates” in honor of the arrival of vaccines made by Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic.

 

A delivery date for the 50,000 doses that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) claimed to have contributed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo was not disclosed.

 

Even though Africa has finally received its first batch, Ms. Rees told the BBC's Newsday show that the delay could have been avoided if other affluent nations had contributed jabs, as the US had done.

 

"After 2022 many of the countries that were affected by the [mpox] outbreak… many of them have stockpiles with millions of vaccines collectively stored," she stated.

 

"It is clear that the country has those stockpiles in order to safeguard its own population. However, in a global emergency such as this one, each nation should assess its stockpile and ask, "Can we really help globally?"