Vaccines for mpox are finally reaching Africa. But questions about the virus remain
Mpox’s rapid spread in Africa raises concerns it may now be more infectious and more severe
When the virus that causes mpox jumped onto the international stage in 2022, countries around the world, including the United States, turned to vaccines targeting the closely related smallpox virus to curb its spread. Yet it wasn’t until 2024 that Africa, the continent where the virus emerged and first began spreading among people, received its first doses.
On September 13, the World Health Organization authorized a smallpox vaccine called Jynneos, made by Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic, for use to tackle growing mpox outbreaks — an administrative move meant to speed distribution. Nigeria had received 10,000 doses on August 27 as part of a donation from the United States, and another roughly 99,000 shots arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo on September 5. But other countries in Africa are still waiting, and millions more doses are needed to address growing mpox outbreaks in Central Africa, even as researchers rush to learn more about the virus and its spread.