Drc To Get Mpox Vaccine For Children Next Week Africa Cdc

Democratic Republic of Congo DRC should start to receive three million doses of mpox vaccine from Japan next week that can be used on children, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Africa CDC said on Thursday.

Vaccinations against the potentially deadly infection are underway in the DRC, the epicentre of the outbreak, but there have been no shots available for children, who are particularly vulnerable to mpox.

Japan pledged in September to donate doses from its national stockpile of LC16m8 vaccines, first developed by local firm KM Biologics for smallpox and effective against mpox, but the donation was held up by a legal hurdle.

"The good news we got from Japan is that, next week, we are getting the Japanese vaccine in DRC that will allow the vaccination of children," Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa CDC, told reporters.

The doses' arrival will boost hopes of curbing the outbreak, which the World Health Organization has declared a global public health emergency.