NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Africa’s public health agency says the continent of 1.3 billion people still does not have a single dose of monkeypox vaccine, but is in “very advanced talks” with at least two partners.
The acting director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ahmed Ogwell, told reporters Thursday that he could not give details, but that the partners are “primarily multilateral institutions and non-African governments.” There are no discussions with the private sector because all available doses have already been purchased by countries, he added.
But clinical trials are underway in Congo with the Jynneos vaccine, which has already been authorized for emergency use, Ogwell said. The two-dose vaccine is considered the main medical weapon against the disease, but supplies are limited. The health center did not immediately respond to a question about the details of the tests.
More deaths from monkeypox have been reported on the African continent than in the rest of the world. Since May, nearly 90 countries have recorded more than 31,000 cases of the disease.
During this year, 11 African countries have registered at least 2,947 cases, 104 of them fatal. But many of the cases are suspect because the African continent lacks enough diagnostic resources to properly test, the health center director said.
A lack of vaccines and a shortage of diagnostic materials are some of the challenges Africa’s 54 countries faced during the COVID-19 pandemic as wealthier countries rushed to seize supplies.
In July, the World Health Organization declared the growing outbreak of monkeypox, once a rare disease, an international emergency: last week, the United States declared it a national emergency.
Outside of Africa, 98% of cases are in men who have sex with men. Given the global shortage of vaccines, authorities are accelerating measures to stop the transmission of monkeypox before the disease can take hold.
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