Nigeria launches delayed Mpox vaccination campaign

Nigeria commenced its long-awaited Mpox vaccination programme on Monday, prioritizing healthcare workers and individuals with compromised immune systems.

The vaccination drive, launched at hospitals in the nation’s capital Abuja, comes over a month after its original schedule.

The country, one of the few in Africa where mpox is endemic, has recorded 94 confirmed cases this year without any fatalities, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

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The initial batch of 10,000 vaccine doses, delivered by the United States in August, is being utilized as part of a targeted vaccination strategy.

“It is not a mass vaccination but a targeted effort focusing on healthcare workers and immunocompromised individuals, particularly those living with HIV,” said Hafsat Abdullazeez from the Institute of Human Virology in Abuja.

The Federal Medical Centre in Abuja witnessed the first phase of the campaign, with 30 individuals receiving the vaccine under strict safety protocols, including the use of gloves and masks.

Hardley Ikwe from the US Centers for Disease Control revealed that the initial phase of the vaccination programme will run for 10 days.

It will cover Abuja and seven other states, including Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, and Rivers, which have reported multiple cases.

The WHO recently announced the allocation of 899,000 vaccine doses to nine African nations severely affected by the mpox outbreak, aiming to curb the spread of the virus.

This vaccination effort follows WHO’s declaration of mpox as a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, emphasizing the urgency of addressing the disease in affected regions.