Aug. 31, Reuters – Working with the Gavi vaccine alliance, Africa CDC, and the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched an emergency tender to guarantee mpox vaccinations for crisis-hit nations, the organisations announced in a joint statement on Saturday.
The statement says agreements for up to 12 million doses until 2025 can be established depending on manufacturers’ production capability.

Under the tender, UNICEF would set up conditional supply agreements with vaccine makers, the release stated.

Once money, demand, preparedness, and legal criteria are validated, UNICEF will be able to quickly buy and distribute vaccines.

Vaccine donations from current stocks in high-income countries would be facilitated by the cooperation, which also includes working with the Vaccine Alliance and the Pan American Health Organization as well as with Gavi, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and WHO.

The statement also said that WHO aims to finish a review for an emergency use listing by mid-September and is looking at data sent by manufacturers on Aug. 23.

The agency is looking at applications for two vaccines produced by Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.CO), opens new tab, Japan’s KM Biologics.

Following an epidemic of the viral infection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that extended to surrounding nations, the WHO earlier in August declared mpox a worldwide public health emergency.

While over 150 cases have been verified in Burundi, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, more than 18,000 suspected cases of mpox have been reported in Congo thus far this year with 629 deaths.

Apart from the Democratic Republic of Congo and surrounding nations, Sweden and Thailand have confirmed cases of the clade Ib form of the virus.