The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has announced that the Mpox vaccination in Nigeria will commence on October 8, 2024.
The NPHCDA’s Head of the Public Relations, Remi Adeleke, disclosed this on Friday, also stated that the vaccine deployment will start from October 3 to 6, 2024, allowing the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) to conclude the regulatory procedures of sampling, traceability and lab analysis.
Adeleke, highlighting the insufficient doses of 9,980 of the Jynneos Mpox vaccine, has said that the vaccine will be shared equally, with 1,996 doses each, across the five states evaluated based on the current trend of cases in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
With the target population of 4,750 persons, including close contact of Mpox cases, health workers, and persons with low immune status, each person will receive two doses each, 28 days apart.
On the strategy to deploy, the head of the PRU said two sites per state are to be identified for vaccination, and only individuals of 18+ will be get the vaccines.
Despite being uncertain of receiving additional doses from the Africa CDC planned donation, on Tuesday, the government of the United States of America donated 10,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine to Nigeria.
Jynneos, a vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the prevention of smallpox and Mpox in adults at risk of Mpox infection.
Data obtained from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Nigeria had recorded a total of 48 confirmed cases of Mpox out of 868 suspected cases across 35 local government areas in 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
