WHO grants first mpox vaccine approval to ramp up response to disease in Africa and beyond

The World Health Organization (WHO) has granted its first authorization for an mpox vaccine for adults, made by Bavarian Nordic A/S. This pre-qualification allows organizations like GAVI and UNICEF to purchase the vaccine. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for urgent scale-up of procurement and distribution. While primarily approved for adults, the vaccine may be used in children during outbreaks. This comes as Africa, particularly Congo, faces a severe mpox outbreak, with children accounting for most cases and deaths.READ FULL