The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the delivery of Mpox vaccines to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) is expected within the next few days

The arrival of mpox vaccines in the Democratic Republic of Congo is imminent, as announced by the World Health Organization chief on Friday. These vaccines are intended to combat a newly identified strain of the virus.

The Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, informed reporters at a press conference that the initial delivery is expected to occur within the next few days, after which there will be a gradual increase in subsequent deliveries.

According to Tim Nguyen, an official from the World Health Organization (WHO), there are currently 230,000 doses of mpox available for immediate dispatch. The doses were donated by the European Commission and Danish smallpox vaccine manufacturer Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.CO), as stated by Nguyen.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that its partners now have the ability to purchase mpox vaccines prior to receiving approval from the United Nations (U.N.) health agency. This decision is a departure from the usual regulations in an effort to expedite the distribution of vaccinations to Africa.

The organization is currently in the process of reviewing applications for emergency licenses for two vaccines manufactured by Bavarian Nordic and KM Biologics from Japan. Tedros stated that it is anticipated that these grants will be approved within the upcoming two weeks.

Rosamund Lewis, the technical lead for mpox at the World Health Organization (WHO), expressed optimism that the implementation of vaccines and other health interventions by collaborating organizations would lead to a decline in cases in the near future.

An undisclosed diagnostic manufacturer in the field of mpox expressed interest in obtaining the World Health Organization’s emergency use listing for their kit. This expression of interest occurred one day after the agency initiated the process. The Director-General, Tedros, mentioned this development without disclosing the name of the company.

In recent weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared mpox as a global public health emergency. This declaration came in response to an outbreak of the viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which subsequently spread to neighboring countries. The number of suspected cases of mpox reported in Congo this year has exceeded 18,000, resulting in 629 deaths. Additionally, Burundi has confirmed over 150 cases, as stated by Tedros.