Department of Health Considers Sourcing Mpox Vaccine From WHO

• The Department of Health is thinking of obtaining a vaccine for the Mpox outbreak that has already claimed five lives
• Minister Joe Phaahla announced that the country is attempting to source vaccines from the World Health Organisation
• South Africans were against Phaahla, and many slammed him on social media, with some rejecting the vaccine

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered accidents, outbreaks, nature and natural disaster-related incidents at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for seven years.

JOHANNESBURG – The Department of Health is trying to get vaccines for the Mpox outbreak and which part of the population would receive it.

Department of Health to source vaccine

According to TimesLIVE, the department wants to vaccinate South Africans for pre- and post-exposure, especially high-risk groups, for the Mpox outbreak. He said the government prioritises risk communication and engages with communities and high-risk populations.

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Five people have been confirmed to be infected with the Mpox virus, and one person died in Gauteng. Phaahla said that the disease contacted 38 people in KwaZulu-Natal, most of which took place in households, 10 in hospitals and five among sexual partners. One particular case involved a person who may have Mpox sleeping with multiple partners.

South Africans in an uproar

South Africans on Facebook were displeased with the announcement that the government is looking for a vaccine.

Jaroen Jansen said:

"The comedy is repeating itself. However, most people will have learned that the vaccines were ineffective and didn't prevent transmission. Instead, they were more harmful than the disease they were supposed to treat."

Molatelo T'apredds Raphadu said:

"Everything needs a vaccine these days."

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Natasa Petrvalsky Sonnekus said:

"Trying new tactics to expose old COVID vaccines."

Deepak Ishwardutt asked:

"What happened to your mandatory vaccination plan of 2020?"

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that Dr Joe Phaahla warned South Africans of a Mpox outbreak.

This came after a 39-year-old man from Gautwnt tested positive in May last month. The man had not travelled to countries where there was a Mpox outbreak.

Source: Briefly News