European Commission asks EU countries to donate Mpox vaccines to Africa

The European Commission this Friday asked European Union (EU) member states to provide vaccines and medicines to Africa due to the outbreak of a new, more dangerous variant of monkeypox (ompox), indicating that it is available for donations.

“I have written to EU health ministers about plans to donate vaccines and medicines against the Covid-19 virus. Global solidarity is needed to combat global health threats,” European Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides wrote in a post on Social X (formerly Twitter).

“We count on Member States to support our African partners in the fight against the outbreak,” and “the Commission stands ready to coordinate” the mobilization, the official added.

In a letter published on the same social network, Stella Kyriakides argues that, faced with an outbreak in several African countries, it is necessary to “act together, in a coordinated and consistent manner.”

After the community leader had already organised the mobilisation of 215,000 doses of the vaccine, the official acknowledged that “the doses needed to combat the current outbreak are obviously much higher.”

“Some Member States and third countries have announced their intention to donate doses to affected countries and Africa. European donations will have a more immediate impact if they are coordinated and targeted in line with the EU approach. [iniciativa conjunta] The European team has already been tested and proven, as was done successfully during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.

In the letter, Stella Kyriakides asks that by the end of August, countries notify Brussels of their “intention to donate vaccines and therapeutics against the COVID-19 virus, as well as the quantities available for donation.”

This position was adopted following a technical meeting last week in Brussels in response to the international public health emergency declared by WHO in light of the current smallpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, at which, however, no new measures were taken.

A week ago, after the first imported case in Europe, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control estimated that it was “very likely” that the EU would see more imported cases of mpox after the case detected in Sweden included a new variant imported from Africa.

However, according to the European Centre, the likelihood of sustained transmission of the virus in Europe is very low if imported cases are diagnosed quickly and control measures are taken.

At the same time, the General Directorate of Health clarified that none of the cases of MPOX registered in Portugal belong to the most dangerous variant of the disease (clade I).

Shortly after Sweden reported its first case of the more contagious and dangerous variant, the WHO warned of the possibility of more imported cases of the virus being found in Europe.

In mid-August, the WHO had already declared the smallpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency: cases had been confirmed among children and adults in more than a dozen countries, and a new variant was in circulation.

It is the second time in two years that the infectious disease has been considered a potential threat to international health. The alert was initially issued in May last year after its spread was contained and the situation was considered under control.

The new variant can be easily transmitted through close contact between two people without the need for sexual contact and is considered more dangerous than the 2022 variant.

Mpox is transmitted primarily through close contact with infected people, including sexual contact.