DRC receives 50,000 vaccines from the USA

50,000 doses of smallpox vaccine from the United States have arrived a week after the arrival of a first batch from the European Union, Congolese authorities said.

Adults in Équateur, Sud-Kivu and Sankuru, the three provinces most affected, will be vaccinated first, starting on October 2, said Cris Kacita Osako, coordinator of the Congolese Committee for the Fight against Monkeypox.

Last week, the first batch of smallpox vaccine arrived in the capital Kinshasa, the center of the epidemic.

The 100,000 doses of Jynneos vaccine, manufactured by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic, were donated by the European Union via HERA, the Union’s agency for health emergencies.

A further 100,000 doses were delivered over the weekend, reports the same media outlet, adding that the 50,000 doses from the USA will be of the same Jynneos vaccine.

Since the beginning of 2024, 5,549 cases of smallpox have been confirmed on the continent, with 643 deaths, representing a sharp increase in the number of infections and deaths compared with previous years, according to reports.