WHO grants first mpox vaccine approval to ramp up response to disease in Africa

A health worker attends to an mpox patient in Munigi, eastern Congo (Moses Sawasawa/AP)

The World Health Organisation has granted its first authorisation for use of a vaccine against mpox in adults, calling it an important step towards fighting the disease in Africa and beyond.

The pre-qualification of the vaccine by Bavarian Nordic A/S means that donors like Gavi the Vaccine Alliance and Unicef can buy it.