Could the Mpox Crisis Have Been Avoided?

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As the world continues to respond to new contagious forms of empocs, many people are asking could we have done more to prevent this global health emergency?

The world should sit back and say have we learned anything from COVID? The African region acquired COVID vaccines very late months later, and that meant that in many cases the people had already had the infection and people then weren't very interested in having the vaccine.

Now we look at empocs and we have the same.

Problem and a much needed vaccination program could be delayed for children under fifteen years old, who account for more than eighty percent of the deaths in the Congo, the country worst affected by the outbreak.

So ramp up really takes a shift in resources and capabilities.

We're looking at doing that. We can do that.

That's how we will be over to deliver the two million doses, but really we really need orders before we can move.

On this episode of the Next Africa Podcast, we'll look at the response to empox and if it's really possible to vaccinate a country the size of the DRC. I'm Jennifer Zabasaja and this is the Next Africa Podcast, bringing you one story each week from the continent driving the future of global growth with the context only Bloomberg can provide. Jennis Q, Bloomberg's health reporter, has been following the outbreak closely and is back on the podcast with us to

Thank you?

Yes, it has been just a lot of developments on the inpox friends.

Yeah, which is part of the reason why we wanted to get you back on. So Jennis, the last time we had you on the podcast, we were talking about empox being declared global health emergency, and since then we've seen cases now popping up in Europe in the Middle East, and you and your team put together a really fascinating story about how this could have potentially been prevented the spread to this extent. How could this have been prevented considering how fast this is moving.

Jan For decades, impox was just another neglected tropical disease in Africa, and now it's become a global health emergency and arguably it's a public health crisis as you say that should never have been.

The illness has claimed.

More than six one hundred and twenty two lives and councing those are mostly in the Congo, which is the epicent of the current crisis, and many thousands of others have been infected. Scientists and public cultificials that you say, have looked at at how it could have been avoided, and instead we've seen its snowball with missteps, red tape and action and all of these creating the perfect environment for the virus to need tait into fast breading variant.

And certainly through the Africa CDC.

They are highlighting that fact, and trying to possibly finally getting the attention that they probably should have had long ago for how these types of pathogens can spread and cause a global problem.

Considering a lot of the missteps and the inaction that you were just highlighting there, how are public health officials tackling this is the vaccine, the way to move forward, in the way to eradicate this from spreading any further.

There are a lot of plans at the moments.

In fact, I would go so for as to say people are scrambling to make sure that they're dealing with it as quickly as possible. That's not to say it's happening as fast as the Africa CDC initially signaled or wanted. Certainly on the vaccine front, they are now saying that they have set a deadline for September the first for vaccines to arrive in the Congo. It's certainly not the only measure that can be taken and is being taken.

The same is true in health facilities.

There's a risk that you've got someone coming in presenting with EMPOC symptoms, but before they run any tests they put into an open ward where there may be somebody else battling a different disease. The vaccines are something that will help certainly in terms of containing spread. And arguably had vaccines been in Africa when the last global emergency for EMPOS ended in May of twenty twenty three, we wouldn't be in this situation now.

So where the vaccines then coming from Janice, And of course the million dollar question is are there going to be enough to actually stop this from continuing to spread in some of these places that are just so highly populated across the continent.

The vaccines are.

Produced at the moment by two companies that are from two different parts of the world, so but very Nordic is a Danish company in Europe and they are the main commercial vaccine.

There is a Japanese company called Kane Biologics.

That also produces vaccine, and there are talks underway between the agencies like Africa CEC and who together with Gabby the Vaccine Alliance with the government of Japan that vaccine is going to be important because it has been used in children before. But Very Nordic, the Danish company, they have vaccine already in stock, but.

Very Nordic has said that the ten.

Million doses that Africa CDC has said they need that they can actually supply all of it by the end of next year. So they are certainly probably the first and foremost piece of the puzzle in terms of vaccines.

And Jennie, stick with us because we want to talk more about the impact on children, especially who based on our reporting, accounts for most of the deaths, and how potentially children may miss out on the vaccines. So stick with us and we'll talk with you after the break. Welcome back. Today we're looking at how African nations are responding to the empox outbreak causing concern across the world.

Jennis q is here. Janis.

We talked about vaccines, but the draft vaccine plans haven't specifically mentioned how shots will be ruled out for children.

You touched on this briefly, but why not?

Why haven't we seen this, especially considering the statistics at this point in time.

I think the fact that very Nordic hasn't been specifically listed for use in children may have contributed to that. I don't think the fact that children haven't been specifically mentioned means.

That they will not get vaccine.

I do think, though, that there is a likelihood that there will be a delay, hopefully not a long one, but a delay in getting vaccine into children.

This is largely.

Because the discussions with the Japanese company came by logics are still underway, and my understanding at this point is that is the vaccine that they would likely.

Use in children. It has been used in children in Asia before.

Is there con concern that that isn't the approach at this point in time, Janeus, I mean that adults are going to be the first one's vaccinated.

Children can't for.

More than eighty percent of the EMPUC states in the Congo, and so them not being first in line is a concern. The pediatric vaccine plan is not clear at the stage, and I would imagine that age organization and doctors and people on the ground are not at all happy with the facts that there isn't a clear and specific plan for children to be getting this vaccine quickly. It is a complicated and tricky situation. Getting vaccines rolled arts is as important as getting vaccines on the ground.

We saw with COVID that Africa was last.

In line to get vaccines and when they eventually arrived, there was logistical problems with the road arts and there was also a lot of hesitat and see with people questioning whether they actually needed the vaccine. The Africa CDC and Helen Rees who's advising she's part of an advisory

I do hope that is the.

Case, but that doesn't take away from the fact that there are these other logistical issues in getting the vaccines rolled out, in ensuring that they are safe to be given to children.

So, in a sense, is the overall feeling that authorities are still sort of on the back foot and getting a hold of what's happening right now, or people confident that we're not doing a repeat of what we saw during COVID and other outbreaks.

I think there is growing confidence that it is not going to be a repeat of COVID.

The World Health Organization set art a prevention.

And preparedness plan this week, and that is an effort to ready coordinate all these efforts. I think when there is an artbreak and there is an emergency, and it's easy to panic, and it's easy for governments individually to reach out to the vaccine makers and for everyone to want to make sure that they are being taken care of or at least are taking care of their people.

They are still scrambling to get enough information.

Unfortunately, we may not have been in a situation of a mutated strain if Africa had these vaccines some years ago.

It is a difficult situation, but one.

That I do think all all the agencies are responding to as best they can. It does feel to me a little bit like it was a situation of weights, wait, weights, and then hurry up and are a little bit more weights because they're trying to.

Get all the pieces of the puzzle together.

But do you think that there is a motivation and focus to get that job done now?

Well, we know as those pieces continue to come together, you will be all over the story, but we appreciate you coming back onto the podcast and giving us an update. Jennis Q, thanks so much for your reporting, and you can read all the latest coverage on the outbreak on Bloomberg News platforms. As Jenna said, this is still an evolving situation and even as vaccinations commence in the DRC,