The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has announced that the vaccination campaign against Mpox is scheduled to commence on October 8, 2024. Remi Adeleke, the Head of the Public Relations Unit at NPHCDA, revealed this information on Friday, noting that the deployment of vaccines is set to begin between October 3 and 6, 2024.

Adeleke explained that the timeline aligns with the three to six-week period needed for the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to complete regulatory processes, including sampling, traceability, and lab analysis, following the receipt of vaccines on August 27.

Due to the limited availability of the Jynneos Mpox vaccine, with only 9,980 doses, the doses will be evenly distributed across five states, each receiving 1,996 doses. The selection of these states will be based on the current trend of Mpox cases, as determined in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC). The vaccination will target 4,750 individuals across these states, each of whom will receive two doses 28 days apart.

The target groups include close contacts of Mpox cases, healthcare workers, and individuals with low immune status. The vaccination strategy will involve identifying two sites per state, utilizing fixed posts at infectious diseases referral centers, and deploying special teams to communities as necessary.

Additional doses of the Mpox vaccine are expected, though the exact number is yet to be determined by the service delivery team. These doses will supplement the 10,000 Jynneos vaccine doses recently donated to Nigeria by the United States.

Mpox is a rare viral zoonotic disease transmitted from animals to humans, primarily occurring in remote villages in Central and West Africa. It is caused by the Mpox virus, which belongs to 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 security, reflecting its significant threat.

According to data from the NCDC, 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.