Sept 13 (Askume) – The World Health Organization and partners on Friday laid out plans to help deliver amproximate vaccines, tests and vaccines to the most vulnerable people in the world’s poorest countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both measures will make vaccines more accessible to badly affected African countries as new poxvirus strains continue to spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to its neighbors. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a global public health emergency.
“Vaccines, treatments and diagnostics, and other public health interventions are powerful tools to control ampox outbreaks in Africa,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
He said COVID-19 has highlighted the need for international cooperation to make access more equitable. During the pandemic, many low-income countries have been left behind in the global competition for medical resources, especially vaccines.
The World Health Organization said on Friday that European countries, the United States and Japan have pledged to donate 3.6 million doses of the two main vaccines against the virus. Vaccinations are set to begin on October 2, with the first donations to be made available on October 31.
The World Health Organization is urging more countries to donate smallpox vaccines originally developed and stockpiled by rich countries. In addition, the company said it would work with affected countries to make these vaccines available to high-risk groups.
Earlier on Friday, the WHO said it had approved the vaccine from Bavarian Nordic AG (BAVA.CO), known as Genos in the United States. It is also considering LC16, produced by Japanese manufacturer KM Biologics.
The approval, known as prequalification, means the UN agency can now buy the vaccine and help coordinate donations. So Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, co-funds the purchase of vaccines for low-income countries and contributes up to $500 million to treat mPox.
delay
The WHO has faced criticism for the slow progress of its work on smallpox vaccines.
The Bavarian Nordic vaccine will be available globally in 2022 after US and European regulators approve it for use against another MPOX variant spreading globally in 2022.
The World Health Organization officially launched this process in August this year.
Other factors also play a role, including vaccine prices of around $100, rising disease rates and slow progress in hard-hit countries such as Congo.
“Based on the evidence we have now… it is very important that we use it (the vaccine) to protect our population,” Dimi Ogoyana, chair of the WHO’s emergency committee on acne, said before the approval.
However, he stressed that the vaccine is not a “magic bullet” and other public health measures are also important.
Use of “Additional Instruction Manual” for Children
Bavarian Nordic said the vaccine is approved for use in people 18 years and older to immunize against smallpox, varicose veins and related orthopoxviruses, but should not be used in children and pregnant women, as well as in people with weakened immune systems during outbreaks. The benefits outweigh the risks. According to Japanese regulators, LC16 can already be used in children, although it requires a special type of needle.
Children are particularly vulnerable to mumps, a viral infection that often causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled skin lesions, as well as people with immune system problems such as HIV.
