U.S. President Joe Biden is set to announce the donation of 1 million mpox vaccine doses and at least $500 million to support African countries in combating the ongoing mpox outbreak. The announcement, scheduled for Tuesday during Biden’s participation in the United Nations General Assembly in New York, will include a call for other nations to join in the global response, according to a senior U.S. administration official.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a global public health emergency in August, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has since spread to neighboring countries and as far as India. The viral infection, which spreads through close contact, causes flu-like symptoms and, in rare cases, can be fatal. The U.S. official emphasized the urgency of the situation, warning that domestic budget cuts could weaken the U.S. response to potential outbreaks.
The vaccines expected to be donated will primarily come from the U.S. stockpile of Jynneos, manufactured by Bavarian Nordic. The 1 million doses are in addition to the 60,000 already donated by the U.S. The administration expects Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, to oversee the distribution of the donated doses to low-income countries.
In addition to the vaccine donation, the Biden administration is pushing for increased vaccine production in low and middle-income countries, and is collaborating with Brazil to engage the G20 in supporting the global mpox response. However, the U.S. official noted that Africa currently lacks the capacity to manufacture the complex drug substances needed for the vaccine.
This latest U.S. contribution is part of a broader effort to contain the outbreak, which has raised alarm worldwide due to the emergence of a new mpox variant, clade Ib, that spreads more easily through close contact, including sexual contact.
