Public health officials battling a deadly mpox outbreak in Africa are struggling to avoid life-threatening mistakes during the Covid-19 pandemic, starting with the slow procurement of vaccines.
In the week since the World Health Organization declared the spread of this potentially deadly disease constitutes an international health emergency, there has been constant talk about the possibility of getting vaccines to African soil. They are now expected to arrive next week.
Fundamentally, plans are also underway for ensure that vaccines reach the hands of those affected.
“It is about implementing solid supply chain management that can accommodate the vaccine that we will bring in the coming days,” said Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Tuesday.
Mpox has been present on the continent since the 1970s, with little international attention. But, although it is the only region where the disease is endemic, did not receive vaccines against the virus in 2022 as the infectious disease spread around the world.
Something similar happened during the Covid-19 pandemic: When vaccines first became available, Africa found itself at the back of the line.
Still, African nations failed to build up vaccine stocks even after agreeing on a plan to improve the continent’s emergency response capabilities.
Part of this failure is related to the lack of local production of vaccines. The region imports almost all of its vaccines and attempts to create an industry have failed. Kaseya is convinced that this time will be different.
“Without local production in Africa, we are exposed,” he said.
South African vaccine maker Biovac Institute to discuss technology transfer with Africa CDC so the company can manufacture mpox vaccines, said CEO Morena Makhoana.
Africa CDC is in talks with Bavarian Nordic A/S, one of the few companies that has an approved mpox vaccine, to obtain the vaccines quickly and ensure that manufacturers on the continent also have the capacity to fill vials with the vaccine made by the Danish company. This would allow them to produce locally, reducing the price without compromising quality, Kaseya said in an online press conference.
Shares in Bavarian Nordic fell 7.8% in Denmark, after gaining 39% this year. The company is scheduled to present its half-year results on Thursday.
Serum Institute of India Pvt., the world’s largest vaccine maker, is “working on developing” injections for mpox, said chief executive Adar Poonawalla in a statement Wednesday.
The continent needs 10 million doses, but vaccines are very expensive. At US$100 per dose, “Many countries cannot afford to buy them at that price,” said Helen Rees, founder of the Reproductive Health and HIV Institute in Johannesburg. The United States has more than doubled its emergency health assistance to $55 million to bolster its response to the outbreak, according to a statement released on August 20.
Bavarian Nordic has said it will be able to meet the immunization needs of African nations. The problem has been a lack of orders: manufacturers will not produce large quantities of vaccines unless they have some kind of guaranteed market.
“As this is a threat to global health, we need to find funding to subsidize vaccines in low- and middle-income countries where cases are being detected,” said Rees, who also chairs the WHO’s African Regional Technical Advisory Group on Immunization. African nations need to get their supplies now, before the threat spreads, he said.
“Unless the African region has access to all these products that are required to respond to an emergency, we will be waiting in line forever,” Rees said.
