The WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, Ahmed al-Mandhari, has repeatedly stated that “no one is safe until everyone is safe”.
This statement, which has been mentioned in many press conferences held by the regional office since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, underlines the importance of the fair distribution of vaccines to eliminate the virus.
The World Health Organization may be forced to issue a similar appeal to address the unfair distribution of monkeypox vaccine.
Moves by rich countries to buy large quantities of monkeypox vaccine, while declining to share doses with Africa, could leave millions without protection against a more dangerous version of the disease and at risk of ‘continued shedding of the virus into humans, The Associated Press cited public health. officials warned in a report Saturday.
Critics fear a repeat of the catastrophic inequality problems seen during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The mistakes we saw during the COVID-19 pandemic are already being repeated,” said Dr. Boghuma Kabisen Titanji, assistant professor of medicine at Emory University.
While rich countries have ordered millions of vaccines to stop monkeypox at their borders, none have announced plans to share doses with Africa, where a more lethal form of monkeypox is spreading than in the West.
So far, more than 22,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in nearly 80 countries since May, with about 75 suspected deaths in Africa, mainly in Nigeria and Congo.
On Friday, Brazil and Spain reported monkeypox-related deaths, the first to be reported outside Africa. Spain reported a second smallpox death on Saturday.
“African countries dealing with monkeypox outbreaks for decades have been relegated to a footnote in conversations about the global response,” Titanji said.
Scientists say that unlike campaigns to stop COVID-19, mass vaccinations against monkeypox will not be necessary.
They believe that targeted use of available doses, along with other measures, could shut down the expanding epidemics that the WHO recently designated a global health emergency.
Although monkeypox is much more difficult to spread than COVID-19, experts warn that if the disease spreads to the general population, it is currently circulating almost exclusively in Europe and North America among gay and bisexual men, the need for vaccines could intensify, especially. if the virus takes root in new regions.
On Thursday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called for the continent to be prioritized for vaccines, saying it was once again being left behind.
“If we’re not safe, the rest of the world is not safe,” said CDC Africa acting director Ahmed Ogwell.
Although monkeypox has been endemic in parts of Africa for decades, it mostly jumps to people from infected wild animals and usually hasn’t spread much beyond the continent.
Experts suspect that outbreaks of monkeypox in North America and Europe may have originated in Africa long before the disease began to spread sexually in two radishes in Spain and Belgium.
Currently, more than 70% of monkeypox cases in the world are in Europe, and 98% are in men who have sex with men.
Director of WHO EMRO’s Department of Universal Health Coverage, Communicable Diseases, Yvan Hutin, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the organization is working closely with member states and partners to establish a coordination mechanism to ensure that the greatest number of countries have access to the vaccine.
The organization is also working with several member states that have larger vaccine stocks to make some of their supplies more accessible to countries that do not have such access.
He stressed that assessing what is available and how these vaccines can be used for optimal impact will take time.
Meanwhile, he stressed the need to make every effort to control the spread of monkey pox among people through early detection, diagnosis, isolation and contact tracing.
Hutin further stated that information is a powerful tool, allowing the most vulnerable to protect themselves and others.
Some countries have recently approved a smallpox vaccine, but supplies are still limited, while others have the old smallpox vaccine, which can be used to treat the virus.
He noted that once vaccines are available, the WHO recommends targeted vaccination of those who have been exposed to people diagnosed with monkeypox.
It also urges vaccinating people at high risk of exposure, including healthcare workers, some laboratory workers and those with multiple sexual partners.
He ruled the need for mass vaccination against monkey pox.
He stated that vaccination does not provide immediate protection against infection or disease, noting that the process can take several weeks.
This indicates that people who have been vaccinated should continue to take preventive measures, such as avoiding close contact, including having sex with other people or people at risk of contracting the virus.