Shortage of mpox vaccines hampers control of outbreak in Congo capital
The Democratic Republic of the Congo was unable to launch an mpox vaccination campaign in its capital Kinshasa due to a shortage of doses of the drug, with the number of cases continuing to rise throughout the country, especially among children, Reuters reports
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency in mid-August, after a new strain began spreading from Congo to neighbouring countries.
“However, donors have been slow to translate their promises into money and vaccines, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention,” the publication reads.
Cris Kacita, the head of operations for Congo’s mpox control programme, said that he had 53,921 doses of vaccine left for use in prisons where people are at high risk because of poor conditions, but needed more than 162,000 doses to start a vaccination programme in the capital.
According to Reuters, the capital, with a population of about 20 million people, was less affected than regions in other parts of the country. Vaccination programmes are underway in six more provinces.
