WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden is set to announce on Tuesday a donation of one million doses of the MPOX vaccine and at least $500 million to help African countries combat the pandemic, a senior administration official said.
Biden will make the announcement in New York where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly and will call on other countries to follow suit, a source told Reuters.
In August, the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency for the second time in two years after a viral outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to neighbouring countries, including India, raising alarm.
“It wouldn’t be a big surprise if we saw cases in the U.S.,” the official said, noting that recent cuts in pandemic aid by Congress could hinder the domestic response.
“We’re really under strain right now to be able to respond effectively at this time, and when you anticipate the possibility of further cuts in the future, I think it will become even more challenging to respond robustly to this type of outbreak.”
Mpox is spread by close contact and is usually mild but can be fatal in rare cases, causing flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.
The outbreak in Congo began with the spread of an endemic strain known as lineage I. But a new variant, lineage Ib, appears to spread more easily through everyday close contact, including sexual contact.
The vaccine donated by the U.S. is expected to be the Bavarian Nordic vaccine, known in the U.S. as Gynneos, with the bulk of the doses coming from the U.S. stockpile. The 1 million doses will be in addition to the 60,000 donated so far.
U.S. officials said the administration expects Gavi, a public-private alliance that pools funds to buy vaccines for lower-income countries, will distribute the donated vaccines.
“We strongly believe that Gavi is the multilateral organization best placed to procure and distribute vaccines equitably,” the official said.
Last week, Gavi announced the purchase of 500,000 doses of the Bavarian Nordic vaccine, marking the company’s first purchase of a vaccine for the prevention of the outbreak.
The Biden administration is also pushing to produce more vaccines in low- and middle-income countries and is working with Brazil to see how the G20 club can help with the MPOX response.
According to U.S. officials, there are currently no manufacturers in Africa that can produce the complex pharmaceutical ingredients needed to make a vaccine.
Published on September 24, 2024, 10:16 IST
