US donates 10,000 Mpox vaccine doses to Nigeria

…As FG prioritises Bayelsa, Edo, C’River, Lagos, Rivers

The United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has donated 10,000 doses of the Monkeypox vaccine to Nigeria to respond to the current mpox outbreak.

Mpox is an infectious viral disease that occurs in humans and animals. It can be transmitted through close contact, including sexual interactions. The prevention of mpox is through vaccination. Persons 18 years of age and older are at high risk for mpox infection and highly recommended to take the vaccine.

The vaccine is a two-dose primary series for use in persons who have never received smallpox vaccine and a single booster for individuals previously vaccinated with a smallpox vaccine

Ambassador Richard Mills, speaking at the event to hand over the vaccines to the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, said the donation was timely and would reach the affected areas across the country and those who are most vulnerable to mpox infection.

Read also: WHO needs $87.4m to contain Mpox outbreak

“We encourage the government of Nigeria to continue to mobilise domestic resources to secure more vaccines to combat mpox”, Mills urged.

The Federal Government prioritised five states, including Bayelsa, Edo, Cross River, Lagos, and Rivers with the highest burden of mpox cases. The vaccines will be given to those most at risk of mpox, including close contacts of mpox cases and frontline healthcare workers with a provision for reactive vaccination in other states as the need arises.

Responding to a question on the safety of the vaccine, Mills said, “The vaccine is safe. Safety tests have been conducted during clinical trials, and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control reviewed the results of these trials before approving the use of the vaccines in Nigeria.”