The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the use of MVA-BN vaccine from the Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic for the first time for an mpox.
MVA-BN vaccine could be administered in people over 18-years of age as a 2-dose injection given 4 weeks apart. After prior cold storage, the vaccine can be kept at 2–8°C for up to 8 weeks.
In coordination with Member States, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners have established an access and allocation mechanism for mpox medical countermeasures including vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests.
So far, fifteen countries in Africa have reported mpox this year.
The Access and Allocation Mechanism (AAM) network was endorsed by WHO Member States as a mechanism to operate in the interim, as negotiations continue towards a pandemic agreement that will increase access to these tools for people at highest risk and ensure that the limited supplies are used effectively and equitably.
Over 3.6 million doses of vaccines have been pledged for the mpox response including 620 000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine by the European Commission, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Spain, and the United States of America, as well as vaccine manufacturer Bavarian Nordic.
Japan has pledged 3 million doses of the LC16 vaccine, the largest number of doses pledged so far.
Over 120 countries have confirmed more than 103 000 cases of mpox since the onset of the global outbreak in 2022. In 2024 alone, there were 25,237 suspected and confirmed cases and 723 deaths from different outbreaks in 14 countries of the African Region (based on data from 8 September 2024).
Despite the expected target for the campaign was 640 000 children, around 560 000 children under ten years old were vaccinated against polio during the first round of an emergency vaccination campaign conducted in three phases from 1-12 September 2024 in the Gaza Strip.
