Gavi, the global vaccine group, announced it will purchase 500,000 doses of Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine. This marks Gavi’s first acquisition of the vaccine to aid in combating an outbreak in parts of Africa.

The global vaccine alliance Gavi says it will buy 500,000 doses of vaccine against mpox to fight outbreaks of the disease in African countries.

Gavi’s purchase puts the total number of vaccines pledged for Africa’s mpox response at more than 4.1 million. European countries, the United States, and Bavarian Nordic have promised 620,000 doses, according to the WHO, and Japan has pledged 3 million shots from another vaccine manufacturer.

The global vaccine group Gavi will buy 500,000 doses of Bavarian Nordic's mpox vaccine, its first purchase of the shot to help battle an outbreak in parts of Africa, the group said on Wednesday.

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 Thursday. The vaccinations started Tuesday targeting seven districts with “high risk populations” who neighbor Congo,