The Democratic Republic of Congo received 50,000 doses of smallpox vaccine from the United States on Tuesday, one week after receiving an initial batch from the European Union.
Cris Kacita Osako, coordinator of the Congolese Committee for the Fight against Monkeypox, told the Associated Press that vaccination will begin on October 2. The first doses will be administered to adults in the provinces of Equateur, South Kivu, and Sankuru, which are most affected by the outbreak.
The first shipment of smallpox vaccine arrived last week in Congo’s capital, the epicenter of the epidemic. The European Union donated 100,000 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine, manufactured by Bavarian Nordic, through its health emergencies agency, HERA. An additional 100,000 doses were delivered over the weekend.
The 50,000 doses from the U.S. are also of the JYNNEOS vaccine.
Despite these shipments, the 250,000 doses received so far are only a fraction of the three million doses needed to combat the outbreak, according to health authorities. The EU has pledged another 500,000 doses, but the timeline for their arrival remains uncertain.
Since the beginning of 2024, there have been 5,549 confirmed smallpox cases in Africa, with 643 deaths, marking a significant increase compared to previous years. Congo accounts for 91% of these cases, with most infections occurring in children under 15. Burundi is the second most affected country.
Last week, the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization launched a continent-wide response plan to address the epidemic, following the WHO’s declaration of a global emergency for smallpox in 12 African countries.
Congo has granted emergency authorization for the vaccine, which is already used for adults in Europe and the U.S. Currently, vaccination efforts will focus on adults, particularly those who have had close contact with infected individuals and sex workers, according to Dr. Jean Kaseya, CDC Africa Director General.
The European Medicines Agency is reviewing additional data to potentially extend vaccine use to children aged 12 to 17, with a decision expected by the end of the month, HERA Director General Laurent Muschel said.
The next batch of smallpox vaccines, expected from Japan, could arrive as early as this weekend, Kacita Osako told the AP, though the exact number of doses was not specified.
