The vaccination campaign against MPOX kicked off over the weekend. In this Central African country, the hardest hit by the virus formerly known as monkeypox, the campaign brings a sense of hope.
Delivered on Saturday in October, a few days late due to logistical issues, the first doses were administered the same afternoon in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. These doses, produced by the Danish laboratory Bavarian Nordic, were supplied by the European Union and the United States.
Vaccination priorities are very clear. Frontline workers, such as medical staff, will be immunized first. In front of the largest hospital in North Kivu’s capital, about ten healthcare workers received the precious vaccine, including Dr. Jeannine Muhavi. "As a doctor, I’m on the front lines (…) I want to protect myself," she stated.
It is impossible for the authorities, who have only 265,000 doses, to start a mass vaccination campaign.
"Of course, we will launch the campaign based on the doses we have and the strategy we’ve adopted, which is to first target the areas most affected by the virus," said the DRC's Minister of Public Health, Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba.
Another major challenge is maintaining the vials at a temperature below 20 degrees. Respecting the cold chain for vaccines represents a significant challenge for Congolese authorities, who aim to gradually distribute the doses from east to west. With a surface area of 2,345,509 km², the DRC is the second largest country in Africa.
The current epidemic has developed in the DRC, the hardest-hit Central African country, accounting for over 90% of the continent's cases. Of the 990 recorded deaths, two-thirds are children under the age of five. However, the vaccination is currently only aimed at adults, as clarified by the Minister of Health, Samuel-Roger Kamba. "There is research suggesting we might be able to use it for children under 17, but for now, given the limited number of doses, we will start with adults."
Since Monday, the campaign has been expanded to the neighboring province of South Kivu, where the current strain emerged a year ago.
No specific date has been set for the vaccination rollout in Kinshasa. The overcrowded Congolese capital has been relatively spared but is now facing a recent rapid increase in cases. The Vijana Referral Hospital is currently treating around 40 patients who have tested positive for MPOX. All of them are awaiting the life-saving vaccine.
