Germany Donates 100,000 Mpox Vaccines to Aid Africa

Germany will donate 100,000 mpox vaccine doses from military stocks to African countries to help contain the outbreak. Additional financial support and resources will be provided through the World Health Organization and GAVI. A decision on reordering vaccines remains pending.

Germany has committed to donating 100,000 mpox vaccine doses from its military reserves to African nations in an effort to curb the outbreak, as stated by a government spokesperson on Monday. This initiative aims to provide immediate relief and support to the affected regions.

The German government will also furnish the World Health Organization (WHO) with flexible financial resources to fight mpox and extend support to its partners in Africa via the GAVI vaccination alliance, the spokesperson added. Germany holds approximately 117,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine, which were stockpiled by the German army following procurement in 2022.

To protect travelling authorities, Germany will retain a minimal stockpile of the vaccines, according to a defence ministry spokesperson. Any decision regarding restocking will be made separately. The WHO has declared mpox a global public health emergency following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that spread to nearby nations and raised concerns about the rapid transmission of the new clade Ib virus.

The German government is exploring the fastest means to deliver these vaccines to the impacted countries, primarily the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as Burundi and neighboring East African nations, mentioned a foreign ministry spokesperson.

(With inputs from agencies.)