Japan, Spain Offer Support in Mpox Vaccination Efforts

Indonesia's Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has imported 7,600 doses of monkeypox (mpox) vaccines, including the Jynneos vaccine, amidst growing concerns about mpox cases in Jakarta. The Jakarta government is implementing preventive measures, focusing on vulnerable populations, and has initiated a vaccination program that has reached 495 individuals so far. Meanwhile, Spain has announced a donation of 500,000 mpox vaccine doses to combat outbreaks in Africa, reflecting a commitment to global health amid a resurgence of cases. Japan is preparing to send the LC16 vaccine, the only one licensed for children, to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the government has requested at least 2 million doses. The DRC is particularly affected, with a significant proportion of cases among children, and the WHO has declared mpox a global health emergency due to a new strain called clade Ib. As various nations step up their vaccine donations, the Africa CDC emphasizes the urgent need to bolster health resources on the continent to prevent further outbreaks.