Latest Immunizations News

Rwanda begins vaccinations against mpox amid a call for more doses for Africa

Sep. 19, 2024 12:02 PM EDT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Rwanda has started a vaccination campaign against mpox with 1,000 doses of the vaccine it obtained from Nigeria under an agreement between the two countries, the African health agency said on Thursday. The vaccinations started Tuesday targeting seven districts...

A gold mining town in Congo has become an mpox hot spot as a new strain spreads

Sep. 19, 2024 08:21 AM EDT

KAMITUGA, Congo (AP) — Slumped on the ground over a mound of dirt, Divine Wisoba pulled weeds from her daughter’s grave. The 1-month-old died from mpox in eastern Congo in August, but Wisoba, 21, was too traumatized to attend the funeral. In her first visit to the cemetery, she...

Why is Congo struggling to contain mpox?

Sep. 19, 2024 02:12 AM EDT

KAVUMU, Congo (AP) — Health authorities have struggled to contain outbreaks of mpox in Congo, a huge central African country where a myriad of existing problems makes stemming the spread particularly hard. Last month, the World Health Organization declared the outbreaks in Congo...

Global vaccine alliance GAVI to buy 500,000 doses of mpox vaccine

Sep. 18, 2024 13:28 PM EDT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The global vaccine alliance Gavi will buy 500,000 doses of mpox vaccine to battle outbreaks of the disease in African countries, the organization said on Wednesday. The vaccine doses — manufactured by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic — will be available...

Pakistan police arrest key suspect in gang rape of a woman polio worker

Sep. 18, 2024 09:37 AM EDT

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police arrested the key suspect in the gang rape of a woman polio worker who was assaulted by three men during last week's vaccination campaign, officials said Wednesday. Two other suspects are still at large. The assault on Thursday in Jacobabad,...

The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN says

Sep. 16, 2024 07:16 AM EDT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the U.N. said Monday. It’s a devastating setback for polio eradication, since the virus is one of the world’s most infectious and any unvaccinated groups of children where the virus is...

The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN says

Sep. 16, 2024 05:52 AM EDT
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN says.

This city is hailed as a vaccination success. Can it be sustained?

Sep. 15, 2024 08:05 AM EDT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — On his first day of school at Newcomer Academy, Maikel Tejeda was whisked to the school library. The 7th grader didn’t know why. He soon got the point: He was being given make-up vaccinations. Five of them. “I don’t have a problem with...

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

Sep. 13, 2024 12:15 PM EDT

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization said Friday it has granted its first authorization for use of a vaccine against mpox in adults, calling it an important step toward fighting the disease in Africa. The approval of the vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic A/S means that donors...

Mpox deaths rise by 107 in a week as Africa CDC calls the toll unacceptable

Sep. 12, 2024 12:45 PM EDT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — African countries recorded more than 100 mpox-related deaths in the past week, the continental health body said Thursday as it described the rising toll as “not acceptable.” Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Center for Disease Control and...