The Democratic Republic of Congo received its first batch of Mpox vaccines on Thursday to curb the disease, prompting the U.N. to declare a global public health emergency.
Congo is the epicenter of the outbreak, and it has spread to neighboring countries and elsewhere.
According to Reuters, the plane carrying doses manufactured by Bavarian Nordic and donated by the European Union touched down in Kinshasa around 13:00 local time.
Congo's health minister, Samuel Roger Kamba Mulamba, said the newly arrived vaccine had already proved its worth in the United States and would be rolled out to adults in Congo.
"We know which provinces are heavily affected, notably Equateur and South Kivu... The idea is to contain the virus as quickly as possible," he said.
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EU Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) Head, Laurent Muschel, said the first delivery amounts to 99,000 doses, and a further delivery on Saturday will bring the total to 200,000 doses.
Further, he said Europe aims to deliver 566,000 doses to wherever needs are greatest in the region.
"Based on the number of cases, the next country (for deliveries) should be Burundi, but the country's medical agency must authorise it."
Congo has said it will launch its vaccination campaign on Oct. 8 to allow time for a thorough awareness-raising campaign to overcome mistrust in some communities.
