The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Wednesday Nigeria was the first African country to receive mpox vaccines.
WHO regional office said in a statement that Nigeria received 10,000 doses of mpox vaccines to check the spread of the new strain of mpox virus on Tuesday.
The United States government donated the Jynneos (MVA) vaccine to Nigeria and it would be distributed in five states where the most mpox cases have been detected.
The United Nations health agency on August 14 declared the mpox a global public health emergency.
Following his announcement, the WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said he was working with partners to facilitate equitable access to vaccines.
The MVA vaccine will be given to 5,000 people most at risk of the virus in a two-dose schedule.
“This includes ‘close contacts of mpox cases and frontline healthcare workers, with a provision for reactive vaccination in other states as the need arises.
“The delivery of the mpox vaccines to Nigeria not only constitutes a crucial addition to the ongoing measures to halt the virus and protect the health, but it is also a clear demonstration of international solidarity in the face of global public health emergencies,” the WHO Regional Director of Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, said.
He lamented that “serious gaps in mpox vaccine access” remain in Africa.
Nigeria has 39 confirmed mpox cases as of August 10.
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