Grapevine

By Al Jazeera
Oct 6, 2024

DRC launches first mpox vaccination drive in efforts to curb outbreak

The vaccine will first be given to health workers and those with existing health issues.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has launched its first vaccination campaign against mpox in the eastern city of Goma, which was hit the hardest by an outbreak.

Vaccines were first administered to hospital staff on Saturday, with the wider vaccine drive due to start on Monday in the east of the country, where the current outbreak began last year.

On Friday, the DRC Ministry of Public Health warned that the vaccine campaign would be limited due to few resources. So far, only 265,000 doses are available.

“As you can imagine, in a country of 100 million people, we’re not going to solve the problem with 265,000 doses,” Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba told a news conference on Friday.