African continent finally to receive 1st monkeypox vaccines

 Africa’s leading public health organization in South Korea will donate the first round of monkeypox vaccines to the continent.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday the 50,000 doses will be used first for health workers and people living in the hardest-hit areas. No timing was given for the doses’ arrival.

The continent this year has recorded 202 deaths from monkeypox — formerly known as monkeypox — with a fatality rate of 19.3% across 13 countries, yet African health authorities for months have pursued vaccines mostly in vain as major outbreaks were reported in rich, Western countries for the first time.

Acting CDC director Ahmed Ogwell noted 51 new monkeypox cases in Congo in the past week and said Ghana and Nigeria are the other most affected countries.