Congo Needs 3.5 Million Doses of Mpox Vaccines, Minister Says

(Bloomberg) -- Democratic Republic of Congo needs 3.5 million doses of mpox vaccines to stop an outbreak of the virus that has infected more than 15,600 people, Health Minister Roger Kamba said.

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The central African country will need to vaccinate about 2.5 million people to control the virus, which has killed about 550 people since the beginning of the year, he said Thursday in a briefing broadcast on national television.

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A new variant of the disease that can be transmitted sexually with fewer symptoms than previous variants has led to an increase in cases, Kamba said. The vaccines, some of which require multiple doses, will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to Kamba.

“That’s why it’s important to ask the international community to wake up and say let’s provide the means, let’s provide the resources so that we can have access to these vaccines,” he said.

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