WHO will share monkeypox vaccines amid inequity fears

The World Health Organization said it’s creating a new vaccine-sharing mechanism to stop the outbreak of monkeypox in more than 30 countries beyond Africa. The move could result in the UN health agency distributing scarce vaccine doses to rich countries that can otherwise afford them.

To some health experts, the initiative potentially misses the opportunity to control monkeypox virus in the African countries where it’s infected people for decades, serving as another example of the inequity in vaccine distribution that was seen during the coronavirus pandemic.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency is developing an initiative for “fair access” to vaccines and treatments that it hopes will be ready within weeks. The mechanism was proposed soon after Britain, Canada, France, Germany, the US and other countries reported hundreds of monkeypox cases last month.

Vaccines for smallpox, a related disease, are thought to be about 85 per cent effective against monkeypox. WHO’s Europe director, Hans Kluge, said on Wednesday that he was concerned about the scramble by some rich countries to buy more vaccines without talk of buying supplies for Africa.

Kluge urged governments “to approach monkeypox without repeating the mistakes of the pandemic.” Still, he did not discount the possibility that countries like Britain, which currently has the biggest outbreak beyond Africa, might receive vaccines through WHO’s mechanism.