Kenyans to get Mpox vaccines by December: Health DG Amoth

The government says Kenyans will receive Mpox vaccines to mitigate the threat of the disease after the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week declared it a public health emergency. 

Health Director-General Patrick Amoth a press briefing on Monday explained that Kenya will receive 2 million doses from the Denmark-based Nordic manufacturing company by December. 

He clarified that the government will prioritise the doses to the most vulnerable groups, as was the case during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“At one point we shall bring back vaccines in the country. You heard when the Africa CDC declared the effects, they said Africa requires 10 million doses of vaccine. We are assured by the Nordic manufacturer that by the end of the year, we will have about 2 million doses,” he said. 

“But the vaccine will not be everybody because of the scarcity in terms of availability so we will prioritise the population to be put at the forefront for vaccine administration.”

Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease caused by the monkeypox virus. The disease is mainly spread through contact with an infected person, contaminated personal items or sexual contact. 

The DG said that the strain (clade 1b) is more transmissible and poses greater danger. 

To address the threat, he said the government will sequence to know the genetic composition of the variant. 

DG Amoth also listed other interventions that the government has put in place such as heightened surveillance at every point of entry and increased training of health workers on how to identify and diagnose the disease.

Further, he said that the government has four dedicated laboratories for testing mpox cases, adding that they have an additional 100 labs if there is a need for additional support. 

The ministry has reassured the public that they have rapid response teams in place to tackle any suspected cases. 

They confirmed screening over 300,000 travellers and tested 29 suspected cases, all of whom have tested negative.

"Testing of suspected cases is currently being conducted at the Ministry of Health National Public Health Laboratories (NPHL) in collaboration with partner institutions such as KEMRI,” Health CS Deborah Barasa said. 

“Counties have similarly activated the emergency response mechanisms with 25 County Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) currently active and providing coordinated efforts. All counties have been directed to activate their Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) that are crucial in case investigation and contact tracing."