The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has announced that the tentative start date for mpox vaccinations is set for October 8, 2024.
Remi Adeleke, Head of the Public Relations Unit at the NPHCDA, revealed this in an exclusive statement to our correspondent on Friday.
He also noted that vaccine deployment is scheduled to begin between October 3 and 6, 2024.
Adeleke explained, “According to the current schedule, the vaccine deployment will take place from October 3 to 6, 2024, allowing the necessary three to six weeks for the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to complete regulatory procedures, including sampling, traceability, and laboratory analysis after receiving the vaccine on August 27.”
“The tentative date for the start of vaccinations is October 8, 2024,” he added.
Due to the limited availability of 9,980 doses of the Jynneos Mpox vaccine, Adeleke noted that the doses will be evenly distributed, with 1,996 doses allocated to each of the five states being considered for implementation.
The selection of specific states is being assessed in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) based on the current trend of cases.
Adeleke further stated that the targeted population in these five states is 4,750 individuals, who will each receive two doses of the vaccine, administered 28 days apart.
The target population includes “close contacts of mpox cases, health workers, and individuals with compromised immune systems.”
Regarding the deployment strategy, Adeleke mentioned that two vaccination sites per state will be identified.
These will include fixed posts at designated infectious disease referral centers and special teams to target communities where close contacts or high-risk groups reside.
“Only individuals aged 18 and above will be eligible to receive the vaccines under the current strategy,” he added.
Adeleke also mentioned that the number of additional Mpox vaccine doses to be received is still under review by the service delivery team to ensure Nigeria benefits from the available stock through the Africa CDC’s planned donation.
Earlier this week, the United States government donated 10,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine to Nigeria.
Jynneos is a vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of smallpox and mpox in adults aged 18 and older who are at risk of mpox infection.
Mpox is a rare viral zoonotic disease, meaning it is an infection transmitted from animals to humans.
It occurs sporadically, mainly in remote villages in Central and West Africa, near tropical rainforests.
The disease is caused by the Mpox virus, which is part of the Orthopoxvirus genus in the Poxviridae family.
On August 13, 2024, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared Mpox a public health emergency of continental concern, acting under its mandate to address significant public health threats.
Data from the NCDC indicates that Nigeria has recorded 48 confirmed cases of Mpox out of 868 suspected cases across 35 local government areas in 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
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