Nigeria began its mpox vaccination campaign on Monday, administering the first shots to health workers and immunocompromised individuals in Abuja. The program, initially scheduled to start over a month ago, was delayed but is now underway at hospitals in the capital.
The country received 10,000 doses of the mpox vaccine from the United States in August, after the World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years.
Mpox is endemic in Nigeria, which has reported 94 confirmed cases and no deaths in 2024, according to the WHO. At the Federal Medical Centre in Abuja, health workers, wearing gloves and masks, vaccinated 30 people to kick off the campaign.
Hafsat Abdullazeez of the Institute of Human Virology explained that the vaccination is targeted, focusing on healthcare workers and people with weakened immune systems, such as those living with HIV.
Hardley Ikwe of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control stated that the vaccination drive will last 10 days, covering Abuja and seven states, including Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, and Rivers, where cases have been reported. A total of 899,000 vaccine doses have been allocated to nine African countries severely impacted by the recent mpox surge, the WHO announced this month.