The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has announced that vaccination against mpox is set to begin on October 8, 2024. Remi Adeleke, Head of the Public Relations Unit at the NPHCDA, disclosed that the vaccine deployment will start between October 3 and 6, 2024, aligning with the three to six-week period required for the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to complete regulatory procedures, including sampling, traceability, and laboratory analysis.
Given the limited availability of 9,980 doses of the Jynneos Mpox vaccine, the vaccines will be evenly distributed across five states, with 1,996 doses allocated to each. These states are currently being evaluated in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) based on the ongoing trend of mpox cases.
The vaccination campaign will target a total of 4,750 individuals, with each receiving two doses of the vaccine, spaced 28 days apart. The priority groups include close contacts of mpox cases, health workers, and individuals with low immune status. To ensure effective coverage, two vaccination sites per state will be identified for the campaign.
This vaccination initiative is a crucial step in controlling the spread of mpox, especially among high-risk populations.
