Africa Asks For More Vaccines As Mpox Cases Rise By More Than 1,000 In A Week

The AP (8/21, Imray) reports, “Congo reported more than 1,000 new mpox cases in the last week up to Tuesday as African health authorities asked for desperately needed vaccines to help fight its ‘growing’ threat on the continent.” While Africa CDC director-general Dr. Jean Kaseya “said that his organization had received a pledge of 215,000 mpox vaccines from the European Union” and the US’ “aid agency said it had donated 50,000 other doses of the same vaccine to Congo,” the country’s “health minister said his country alone needed 3 million vaccine doses to end the outbreaks there, which have spilled into at least four nearby African countries.” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has also “urged the international community to guarantee ‘equitable access’ to mpox diagnostics and vaccines,” evoking “memories of Africa’s anger at largely being shut out of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.”