Experts continue to highlight ongoing vaccine scarcity in Africa.
Experts are still worried about a lack of vaccines to combat monkeypox in Africa. "We're truly concerned," stated Placide Mbala-Kingebeni from the National Institute of Biomedical Research at the University of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He estimates that around 10 million doses of the vaccine are required on the continent.
"Unfortunately, there are only about 500,000 doses currently in development, and we're unsure when these 500,000 will be distributed," Mbala-Kingebeni shared during a digital press conference. As the disease continues to spread, he added, there have been recent reported cases in Gabon. "Cases will pop up everywhere. It's just a matter of time," he stated.**
The World Health Organization (WHO) has escalated the alert level due to the current monkeypox outbreaks in Africa and the new, potentially more dangerous clade Ib. Recently, Tim Nguyen from the WHO mentioned that 500,000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine are available for purchase.**
Marion Koopmans, head of the Institute for Virus Research at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, also highlighted numerous unanswered questions regarding clade Ib. These include the transmissibility of the pathogen, the severity of the diseases, and the effectiveness of the vaccine. "Will the vaccines work against clade Ib? I believe the truthful response is: We're not sure yet," she shared during the press conference. Further studies are urgently needed.
Despite the availability of 500,000 vaccine doses for purchase from the WHO, the lack of protection against monkeypox in Africa remains a significant concern, especially considering the potential threats posed by clade Ib. As the disease continues to spread and new cases emerge, effective protection measures are essential to mitigate the impact of monkeypox in Africa.
