The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has announced that the mpox vaccination campaign in Nigeria will begin on October 8, 2024.
According to Remi Adeleke, Head of the Public Relations Unit at the NPHCDA, vaccine deployment will start from October 3 to 6, 2024.
This timeline aligns with the three to six-week period needed for the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to complete its regulatory processes, including sampling, traceability, and laboratory analysis of the vaccine, which was received on August 27, 2024.
Due to a limited supply of 9,980 doses of the Jynneos mpox vaccine, the doses will be evenly distributed among five states, with each state receiving 1,996 doses. The selection of these states will be based on current case trends, in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
The targeted population for this vaccination campaign is 4,750 individuals across these states, including close contacts of mpox cases, health workers, and individuals with compromised immune systems. Each person will receive two doses of the vaccine, administered 28 days apart.
Vaccination will take place at two sites per state. These sites will include fixed posts at infectious disease referral centers and special teams deployed to reach communities and specific risk groups. Only individuals aged 18 and older will be eligible for the vaccine under the current strategy.
The NPHCDA is also awaiting additional doses from a planned donation by the Africa CDC, with details still being finalized by the service delivery team.
