A year after outbreak, Africa waits for its share of mpox vaccines

WASHINGTON -- As U.S. public health officials brace for a possible resurgence of mpox ahead of the summer festival season, experts are warning that European and North American governments aren't doing nearly enough to ensure that hard-hit African countries can also beat back the virus.

A vaccine for mpox already existed prior to the U.S. outbreak last year. Thanks in part to that vaccine, which is about 86% effective after two doses, mpox cases have drastically fallen in the U.S. from a peak of 600 new cases nationwide on Aug. 1, 2022, alone to an average of one new case per week in April, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But in lower-income countries such