Congo says it will receive its first mpox vaccines next week to address new global emergency
Congo's health minister says the country will receive the first vaccine doses to address its mpox outbreak next week from the United States
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo will receive the first vaccine doses to address its mpox outbreak next week from the United States, the country's health minister said Monday, days after the World Health Organization declared mpox outbreaks in Africa a global emergency.
Mpox cases have been confirmed among children and adults in more than a dozen African countries, and a new form of the virus is spreading. Few vaccine doses are available on the continent.
Congo has the vast majority of the mpox cases and currently needs 3 million vaccine doses. The U.S. and Japan have offered to donate vaccines, Health Minister Roger Kamba told journalists. He did not say how many doses would be sent or when the ones from Japan would arrive.
The WHO has reported over 17,000 mpox cases and over 500 deaths worldwide this year. More than 96% of all cases and deaths have been in Congo, whose health system has long struggled to contain disease outbreaks over the country's vast area and poor infrastructure. Children under 15 account for more than 70% of the cases and 85% of deaths in Congo.
