Congolese Authorities Start Vaccination Campaign Against Mpox

The AP (10/5, Alonga) reported, “Congolese authorities on Saturday began vaccination against mpox, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread from Congo to several African countries and beyond was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization.” The 265,000 vaccine “doses donated to Congo by the European Union and the U.S. were rolled out in the eastern city of Goma in North Kivu province, where hospitals and health workers have been overstretched, struggling to contain the new and possibly more infectious strain of mpox.” Even though “most mpox infections and deaths recorded in Congo are in children under age 15, the doses being administered are only meant for adults and will be given to at-risk populations and front-line workers, Health Minister Roger Kamba said.” Reuters (10/5, Katanty) reported, “The Health Ministry warned on Friday that the campaign’s scope would be small due to limited resources.”