By Haruna Gimba
Africa is yet to receive monkeypox vaccines as the infectious viral disease spreads to non-endemic countries on the continent, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.
While monkeypox was declared a public-health emergency of international concern by the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Africa CDC is yet to secure any doses of the inoculation, Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, the agency’s deputy director, said at a virtual briefing.
Last month, Ouma said Africa should be first in line for monkeypox vaccines, hoping to avoid a repeat of the coronavirus pandemic that left the continent far behind wealthier nations.
Africa CDC is in talks with developers to get shots “as soon as possible” for monkeypox and smallpox, he said. Vaccines for the latter can also be used against monkeypox.
The disease has spread to about 16,000 people in more than 70 countries in just a few months.
