The US will donate one million doses of smallpox vaccine to combat the epidemic in Africa

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden will announce the donation of one million doses of anti-smallpox vaccine and at least 500 million dollars to African countries to help them deal with the epidemic, according to a senior administration official.

Biden will make the announcement in New York, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly, and will invite other countries to follow suit, the official told Reuters.

Last August, the World Health Organisation declared smallpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak of the viral infection in the Democratic Republic of Congo that spread to neighbouring countries and beyond, including India, raising concerns.

It wouldn’t be very surprising if a case also broke out in the United States’, said the official, pointing out that recent cuts in support for the fight against the pandemic by Congress risked hampering the national response.

We are really stretched thin right now to be able to respond effectively. I think that further cuts in the future will make it increasingly difficult to provide a solid response to this type of epidemic.

Mpox can be spread by close contact. Although generally benign, it can be fatal in rare cases. It provokes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body.

The epidemic in the Congo began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But a new variant, clade Ib, appears to be spreading more easily through the usual close contacts, including sexual contacts.

The doses donated by the US are expected to come from the Bavarian Nordic vaccine (BAVA.CO), opens new tab known as Jynneos in the US, and many from a US stockpile. This million doses is in addition to the 60,000 vaccines already donated.

The US official said the administration expected Gavi, a public-private alliance that co-finances the purchase of vaccines for low-income countries, to distribute the donated vaccines.

We believe that Gavi is the multilateral institution best placed to purchase and distribute vaccines in an equitable manner’, said the official.

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Gavi announced last week that it would be purchasing 500,000 doses of vaccine from Bavarian Nordic, its first purchase to contribute to the fight against the epidemic.

Biden’s administration is also pushing for more vaccines to be made in low- and middle-income countries, and is working with Brazil to determine how the Group of 20 nations can support the response to smallpox.