Congo battles mpox: vaccination programme rolls out
KARACHI: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has finally launched a vaccination programme to combat the rising cases of monkeypox virus infections and associated deaths. This move is crucial, considering the country has reported approximately 30,000 suspected and laboratory-confirmed mpox cases since the start of 2024, resulting in over 990 related fatalities. Vaccination Efforts The programme, which began on October 5, aims to mitigate the spread of Mpox and protect the most at-risk populations. DRC Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba stated that the vaccination campaign was being launched in Goma, North Kivu province, due to the region's war-torn status and high mpox cases. The country received its first consignment of 99,100 vaccine doses on September 5, followed by an additional 100,900 doses the same week, totaling 265,000 doses, so far. The vaccination programme will initially target health workers, frontline responders, contacts of confirmed cases, their secondary con...