2 months ago
Canada stated that it will be giving up to 200000 doses of the mpox vaccine in efforts to fight the virus. This decision came as WHO declared mpox as a public health emergency of international concern in August, 2024 which is the second time this disease was declared a global emergency in two consecutive years.
The quantity of vaccine doses which will be given out will depend on how much the recipient countries is capable of receiving and distributing it and the vaccine, Imvamune, according to the spokesperson of the minister of international development of Canada. The donation aims to help redress the disparities in vaccine distribution which jeopardized Africa Countries during mpox epidemic of 2022 by providing adequate vaccines to both preventive and protective treatment.
Mpox, which was previously referred to as monkeypox, is transmitted through direct contact and the disease causes relatively mild symptoms such as fever, and rashes on the skin that develop into pus-filled vesicles. In this, however, the disease can be deadly in rare circumstances. The previous one emerged in Congo starting with the endemic clade I strain. Subtype Ib, however, seem to be more transmissible, including sexually and, therefore, fuel the increase in the numerous cases in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
Although no specific information has been released about which countries will be receiving the vaccine and within what time frame the Canadian government has affirmed its commitment to partnering with international organizations including GAVI and the WHO to reach out for the vaccines and distribute them to the deserving nations.
So far, the availability of vaccines in their domestic market is still undisclosed up to the present, due to Canada government’s national security reasons The estimates reveal that Canada currently possesses more than two millions doses of the mpox vaccines sufficient enough to cover vaccines in their local market as well as exporting to other countries.
Canadian health activists such as Médecins Sans Frontières Canada is calling on Canada to be more forthcoming in the supplies it has in stock and for the nation to share vaccines on the international market to avert future surges.
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