Sunday, October 6, 2024

Vaccinations Have Finally Begun, On The Ground, In Bas-Uélé Province, DRC: Mpox Update, Oct. '24.


We applaud the effort, but remain troubled that there was no "ready-reserve", for WHO to deploy to DRC and other African nations, for this Mpox outbreak ordeal.

As we noted throughout last month, logistical delays (largely transport via cold storage means) have hampered delivery of even the vaccine stock hurriedly assembled and delivered to Kinshasa's N’djili International Airport. In any event, here is the latest, out of Congo:

. . .Congolese authorities Saturday began vaccinations against mpox, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread from Congo to several African countries and beyond was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization.

The 265,000 doses donated to Congo by the European Union and the U.S. were rolled out in the eastern city of Goma in North Kivu province, where hospitals and health workers have been overstretched, struggling to contain the new and possibly more infectious strain of mpox.

Congo, with about 30,000 suspected mpox cases and 859 deaths, accounts for more than 80% of all the cases and 99% of all the deaths reported in Africa this year. All of the Central African nation’s 26 provinces have recorded mpox cases.

Although most mpox infections and deaths recorded in Congo are in children under age 15, the doses being administered are only meant for adults and will be given to at-risk populations and front-line workers, Health Minister Roger Kamba said this week. . . .


Now you know -- and onward, to post card writing and mailing for the campaign at left -- into battleground state mailboxes by the thousands, now. Smile.

नमस्ते

No comments: