WHO to share vaccines to stop monkeypox amid inequity fears

By MARIA CHENG
AP Medical Writer

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization is creating a new vaccine-sharing mechanism to stop the spiraling outbreak of monkeypox in more than 30 countries beyond Africa. The move could result in the U.N. health agency distributing scarce vaccine doses to rich countries that otherwise can afford them. To some health experts, the initiative potentially misses the opportunity to control monkeypox in the African countries where it’s infected people for decades. They say the program might repeat the inequity in vaccine distribution that was seen during the coronavirus pandemic. The mechanism was proposed shortly after Britain, Canada, France, Germany, the U.S. and other countries reported hundreds of monkeypox cases last month.