UNICEF issues an emergency tender for the procurement of monkeypox vaccines

According to news on September 1, on August 31, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization issued a joint statement saying that UNICEF has issued an emergency tender to provide monkeypox vaccines to countries greatly affected by the monkeypox epidemic.

The statement pointed out that depending on demand, the production capacity of vaccine manufacturers, and funding availability, the procurement agreements that can be signed involve up to 12 million doses of monkeypox vaccines. According to the tender requirements, UNICEF will sign conditional supply agreements with vaccine manufacturers, which will enable the agency to immediately procure and ship vaccines once financing, demand, readiness, and regulatory requirements are confirmed.

In addition, UNICEF will also cooperate with institutions such as the Pan American Health Organization, the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the WHO to promote high-income countries to donate vaccines from existing stocks. The WHO is reviewing the information submitted by vaccine manufacturers on August 23 and is expected to complete the review process of including relevant vaccines in the WHO's "Emergency Use Listing" in mid-September, including the emergency use authorizations for two vaccines from Bavarian Nordic of Denmark and KM Biologics of Japan.

The WHO announced on August 14 that the monkeypox epidemic constitutes a "public health emergency of international concern." The new strain of the monkeypox virus, "clade Ib," emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last year and spread rapidly. It has spread to neighboring countries such as Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda that have never reported monkeypox cases. Currently, the monkeypox epidemic has the potential to further spread in Africa and to other continents, which is worrying.

This time, UNICEF's issuance of an emergency tender for the procurement of monkeypox vaccines reflects the high degree of attention of the international community to the monkeypox epidemic and is committed to controlling the spread of the epidemic by increasing vaccine supply and protecting the health of people in affected areas. The progress of subsequent vaccine procurement and distribution work will be followed by all parties.