Europe calls for solidarity as countries donate smallpox vaccines
European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides made the appeal in a letter addressed to European health ministers. for the countries of the old continent to donate vaccines against mpox.
Kyriakides addressed his letter to the health ministers of European countries: calling for a coordinated response with countries affected by the latest monkeypox outbreak.
On August 14, the World Health Organization declared IAEA an international health emergency, a day after Africa, through the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), declared the disease a public health emergency on the continent. At the time, Africa requested the mobilization of 2 million doses of vaccines to end the outbreak..
Given the deteriorating situation in Africa, The Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), in cooperation with the pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic, has secured and delivered more than 215,000 doses of the vaccine. MVA-BN® to the Africa CDC. These doses will be distributed according to an established vaccination strategy based on regional needs, although Kyriakides cautioned that “the doses needed to combat the current outbreak are certainly much higher.”
Europe’s intention to donate
Several EU Member States and other countries have expressed their intention to donate doses to affected countries and the African continent. The Commissioner stressed that “European donations will have a more immediate impact if they are coordinated and directed through a “Team Europe” approach, as has been done successfully during the Covid-19 pandemic.“.
Kyriakides concluded his letter by asking Member States’ health ministers to communicate their donation intentions and available volumes of vaccine doses as soon as possible by the end of August.
Kiriaikides also recalled that there is a joint framework contract with Bavarian Nordicwhich will allow countries to purchase more monkeypox vaccines, including through donations. “I count on your generous support to help you quickly communicate your donation intentions, thereby best supporting our African partners in the fight against this outbreak,” the Commissioner said.
This is the so-called rreinforces the need for a global and coordinated response to health emergencies, underlining the European Union’s commitment to public health worldwide..
Spain to donate vaccines
In our country, on August 21, a meeting of the Public Health Commission was held following the WHO warning and the meeting of the technical group of the Ministry of Health, which brought together the Ministry itself and the autonomous communities and summarized the measures that must be taken. measures taken against possible cases of infection with the new variant of mpox in Spain
The measures agreed in the committee include monitoring cases of the new variant, strengthening virus detection measures and donating vaccines to affected countries. The ministry announced after the Commission that this measure will be maintained with the clear aim of working at the source and donating vaccine doses to countries most affected by the virus.“This is the top priority in addressing this international public health emergency.”emphasized the Minister of Health, Monica Garcia.
In turn, Health Minister Javier Padilla stressed that our country has sufficient vaccine reserves for the assigned population and for those people who are inclined to get vaccinated. “But it is important that we do not repeat the mistake of 2022 with Covid-19, that in Europe we provided ourselves with vaccines, but they did not reach Africa. We must focus our efforts on ensuring that vaccines reach the places where they are needed.— concluded Padilla.
Since the ministry does not announce the number of vaccines it will donate to Africa, Spain is joining an initiative that is fundamental for Kyriakides, as he stressed in this letter.We must act together and consistently to mitigate the impact of this outbreak.– concluded Kiriakides.
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