The World Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi) has secured 500,000 doses of the MVA-BN vaccine from Bavarian Nordic to fight the continued mpox outbreak in Africa.
This comes after the vaccine acquired prequalification from the World Well being Organisation (WHO) on September 13, 2024.
In a statemen on Wednesday, Gavi introduced that the vaccines, funded by way of its first response fund, will likely be delivered this 12 months.
The settlement awaits finalisation of a provide contract with UNICEF, which can deal with the distribution.
“Bavarian Nordic will likely be prepared to produce the vaccines pending the signing of a provide settlement with UNICEF, Gavi’s alliance accomplice, which will likely be delivering these doses,” the assertion reads.
Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, highlighted the significance of the primary response fund, noting that it was designed to offer speedy help throughout public well being emergencies akin to mpox.
“Utilizing it at the moment to fund the primary direct transaction for vaccines in help of equitable entry and the worldwide response, simply over a month since mpox was declared a public well being emergency, takes us a great distance in direction of our aim of defending these most in danger,” she mentioned.
“We’re dedicated to working with affected governments and our companions to show these vaccines into vaccinations as rapidly and successfully as attainable and, over time, to construct a worldwide vaccine stockpile if enough funding is secured for Gavi’s work by way of 2030. We thank our donors for enabling us to behave quickly by committing funds to the First Response Fund earlier than an emergency occurred.”
Paul Chaplin, president and CEO of Bavarian Nordic, expressed his firm’s dedication to the initiative, noting the impression the vaccines can have within the struggle towards mpox throughout Africa.
“The doses secured by way of this settlement will considerably enhance the supply of mpox vaccines for African international locations, and we’re happy that Gavi has chosen our MVA-BN vaccine, which has confirmed extremely efficient through the world mpox outbreak in 2022,” Chaplin mentioned.
Seeking to the longer term, Gavi is exploring long-term measures, together with constructing a sustainable vaccine manufacturing trade in Africa by way of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator, launched in June 2024.
The alliance mentioned the creation of a worldwide vaccine stockpile for future mpox outbreaks can be on the desk, relying on donor funding.
