“Spain has indicated to the European Commission that it will make a donation representing 20% of its vaccine stock, or 100,000 vials corresponding to 500,000 doses of vaccine,” which could allow up to half a million people to be vaccinated, the Spanish Ministry of Health explained in a press release.
Faced with the mpox epidemic, whose “epicentre is in several Central African countries, the Ministry of Health considers that it is essential to act in this region in order to contain the current situation”, continues the government, which does not specify which countries are concerned, nor on what date the vaccines will be sent.
Madrid is encouraging its European counterparts to donate 20% of their stock in turn and not to “keep vaccines where there is no problem”: “It makes no sense.”
MPOX, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that spreads from animals to humans but is also transmitted between humans through physical contact. It causes fever, muscle aches and skin lesions.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and the Central African Republic are the countries most affected by the resurgence of mpox in Africa, where cases have also been reported in around ten other countries.
This prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a “public health emergency” of international concern due to the 1b variant of the virus, which is now more widespread and more dangerous.
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