Kenya Joins Eight Other African Nations in Receiving MPOX Vaccine Supplies

The surge in monkeypox cases across Africa has led to a significant response involving the distribution of vaccine doses, with Kenya standing amongst the nine nations in the continent receiving these crucial supplies.

The Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM) has earmarked an initial batch of 899,000 vaccine doses for these nine African countries, aimed at tackling the monkeypox outbreak. This decision, articulated through a press release from the World Health Organization (WHO), underscores collaboration with the countries affected and donors. The goal: to ensure that the scarce vaccine doses are utilized judiciously and equitably, thereby addressing the outbreak effectively.

The allocation was endorsed by key players such as the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), UNICEF, and WHO. These organizations leaned heavily on insights from an Independent Technical Review Committee of the Continental Incident Management Support Team for MPOX, assessing each country’s preparedness and current epidemiological landscape.

Alongside Kenya, the other recipient countries include Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda. The Democratic Republic of the Congo will receive the lion’s share of these doses, a whopping 85% of the total allocation, due to its severe burden of disease—the nation has logged nearly 80% of all confirmed lab cases in Africa this year.

A mid-August declaration marked the MPOX outbreak, particularly the virulent clade Ib variant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring regions, as a public health emergency on both international and continental scales.

Monkeypox has recently gripped 19 African nations, many of which are confronting the virus for the first time. The epicenter remains the Democratic Republic of the Congo, grappling with over 38,000 suspected cases and more than a thousand fatalities recorded this year alone.

In Kenya, authorities documented 13 MPOX cases, inclusive of a single casualty, scattering across locales such as Nakuru, Kajiado, Bungoma, Taita Taveta, Busia, Nairobi, Mombasa, Makueni, Kericho, and Kilifi. A report from the WHO at the start of last month indicated that 16 countries from the region had collectively reported 7,535 confirmed cases, adding 32 deaths to the list.

Efforts to combat MPOX aren’t solely reliant on vaccines. The strategy emphasizes rapid testing, proper medical care, preventing further infections, and rallying support from affected communities. Recent efforts have seen limited distribution of vaccines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and WHO underscores this latest move as a pivotal step towards strategic and targeted vaccine deployment to curb the outbreaks.

Many countries, however, are treading new ground as they embark on rolling out the monkeypox vaccines. Tackling the outbreak through planned vaccination demands additional resources. MPOX AAM partners, initiated last month, are gearing up to enhance the response, with expectations for additional vaccine allocations by year’s end.

The origins of these doses trace back to Canada, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, numerous European Union members including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, as well as contributions from the European Union Health Emergency Response Authority and the United States.

By the close of 2024, more than 5.85 million vaccine doses should be available under the MPOX Vaccines AAM, inclusive of nearly 900,000 currently designated doses. A tripartite vaccination strategy is in the works: the initial phase is combatting outbreaks; the second wave focuses on expanding protective measures, and the third phase aims at fortifying immunity within populations to shield against future threats.

The first strategic phase intends to vaccinate about 1.4 million individuals at risk by the conclusion of 2024, with an estimated 2.8 million MVA-BN vaccine doses set aside to support this mission.

Monkeypox, also known as MPOX, is a contagious affliction brought on by the monkeypox virus. Its unpleasant symptoms include a painful rash, swollen lymph nodes, and fever. Though recovery is typical, some patients can experience severe symptoms.

The virus is indiscriminate in its spread, transmitted via contact with an infected individual through touching, kissing, or sexual relations, through wildlife during hunting, skinning, or cooking, or via contaminated materials such as linens, attire, or needles. Pregnant women can also spread the virus to their unborn children.

By Wangari Ndirangu

Edited by: Ali Musa

alimusa@axadletimes.com

Axadle international–Monitoring