Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: As the world continues to respond to new contagious forms
Speaker 2: of empocs, many people are asking could we have done
Speaker 2: more to prevent this global health emergency?
Speaker 3: The world should sit back and say have we learned
Speaker 3: anything from COVID? The African region acquired COVID vaccines very
Speaker 3: late months later, and that meant that in many cases
Speaker 3: the people had already had the infection and people then
Speaker 3: weren't very interested in having the vaccine.
Speaker 4: Now we look at empocs and we have the same.
Speaker 2: Problem and a much needed vaccination program could be delayed
Speaker 2: for children under fifteen years old, who account for more
Speaker 2: than eighty percent of the deaths in the Congo, the
Speaker 2: country worst affected by the outbreak.
Speaker 3: So ramp up really takes a shift in resources and capabilities.
Speaker 4: We're looking at doing that. We can do that.
Speaker 3: That's how we will be over to deliver the two
Speaker 3: million doses, but really we really need orders before we
Speaker 3: can move.
Speaker 2: On this episode of the Next Africa Podcast, we'll look
Speaker 2: at the response to empox and if it's really possible
Speaker 2: to vaccinate a country the size of the DRC. I'm
Speaker 2: Jennifer Zabasaja and this is the Next Africa Podcast, bringing
Speaker 2: you one story each week from the continent driving the
Speaker 2: future of global growth with the context only Bloomberg can provide.
Speaker 2: Jennis Q, Bloomberg's health reporter, has been following the outbreak
Speaker 2: closely and is back on the podcast with us to
Speaker 2: walk us through the latest. Jennis, great to have you
Speaker 2: back on. I know it's been a busy past few weeks.
Speaker 2: How are you doing good?
Speaker 4: Thank you?
Speaker 1: Yes, it has been just a lot of developments on
Speaker 1: the inpox friends.
Speaker 2: Yeah, which is part of the reason why we wanted
Speaker 2: to get you back on. So Jennis, the last time
Speaker 2: we had you on the podcast, we were talking about
Speaker 2: empox being declared global health emergency, and since then we've
Speaker 2: seen cases now popping up in Europe in the Middle East,
Speaker 2: and you and your team put together a really fascinating
Speaker 2: story about how this could have potentially been prevented the
Speaker 2: spread to this extent. How could this have been prevented
Speaker 2: considering how fast this is moving.
Speaker 1: Jan For decades, impox was just another neglected tropical disease
Speaker 1: in Africa, and now it's become a global health emergency
Speaker 1: and arguably it's a public health crisis as you say
Speaker 1: that should never have been.
Speaker 4: The illness has claimed.
Speaker 1: More than six one hundred and twenty two lives and
Speaker 1: councing those are mostly in the Congo, which is the
Speaker 1: epicent of the current crisis, and many thousands of others
Speaker 1: have been infected. Scientists and public cultificials that you say,
Speaker 1: have looked at at how it could have been avoided,
Speaker 1: and instead we've seen its snowball with missteps, red tape
Speaker 1: and action and all of these creating the perfect environment
Speaker 1: for the virus to need tait into fast breading variant.
Speaker 1: It's now been detected in at least ten countries, two
Speaker 1: of those outside of Africa. Some scientists have said, really
Speaker 1: it's not a case of finger pointing per se. It's
Speaker 1: probably more an example of a neglected tropical disease in Africa.
Speaker 1: These are not diseases that typically gets a lot of
Speaker 1: funding and a lot of research, but they're also not
Speaker 1: diseases that are likely to make a lot of money
Speaker 1: for vaccine makers or other therapeutic companies. We saw with
Speaker 1: COVID how no part of the globe is isolated, and
Speaker 1: I think that Africa.
Speaker 4: And certainly through the Africa CDC.
Speaker 1: They are highlighting that fact, and trying to possibly finally
Speaker 1: getting the attention that they probably should have had long
Speaker 1: ago for how these types of pathogens can spread and
Speaker 1: cause a global problem.
Speaker 2: Considering a lot of the missteps and the inaction that
Speaker 2: you were just highlighting there, how are public health officials
Speaker 2: tackling this is the vaccine, the way to move forward,
Speaker 2: in the way to eradicate this from spreading any further.
Speaker 4: There are a lot of plans at the moments.
Speaker 1: In fact, I would go so for as to say
Speaker 1: people are scrambling to make sure that they're dealing with
Speaker 1: it as quickly as possible. That's not to say it's
Speaker 1: happening as fast as the Africa CDC initially signaled or wanted.
Speaker 1: Certainly on the vaccine front, they are now saying that
Speaker 1: they have set a deadline for September the first for
Speaker 1: vaccines to arrive in the Congo. It's certainly not the
Speaker 1: only measure that can be taken and is being taken.
Speaker 1: There's been a lot of conversation around getting funds to
Speaker 1: ensure that there is good public health messaging on the ground.
Speaker 1: They need to make sure that parents know to bring
Speaker 1: their children in if they sing any symptoms with children.
Speaker 1: Quite often it's mistaken by parents or caregivers as chicken
Speaker 1: pox and that is causing delays in getting treatments Africa.
Speaker 1: CDC yesterday was also highlighting how teachers are being targeted
Speaker 1: in terms of public health messaging to ensure that they
Speaker 1: know what to look out for.
Speaker 4: The same is true in health facilities.
Speaker 1: There's a risk that you've got someone coming in presenting
Speaker 1: with EMPOC symptoms, but before they run any tests they
Speaker 1: put into an open ward where there may be somebody
Speaker 1: else battling a different disease. The vaccines are something that
Speaker 1: will help certainly in terms of containing spread. And arguably
Speaker 1: had vaccines been in Africa when the last global emergency
Speaker 1: for EMPOS ended in May of twenty twenty three, we
Speaker 1: wouldn't be in this situation now.
Speaker 2: So where the vaccines then coming from Janice, And of
Speaker 2: course the million dollar question is are there going to
Speaker 2: be enough to actually stop this from continuing to spread
Speaker 2: in some of these places that are just so highly
Speaker 2: populated across the continent.
Speaker 4: The vaccines are.
Speaker 1: Produced at the moment by two companies that are from
Speaker 1: two different parts of the world, so but very Nordic
Speaker 1: is a Danish company in Europe and they are the
Speaker 1: main commercial vaccine.
Speaker 4: There is a Japanese company called Kane Biologics.
Speaker 1: That also produces vaccine, and there are talks underway between
Speaker 1: the agencies like Africa CEC and who together with Gabby
Speaker 1: the Vaccine Alliance with the government of Japan that vaccine
Speaker 1: is going to be important because it has been used
Speaker 1: in children before. But Very Nordic, the Danish company, they
Speaker 1: have vaccine already in stock, but.
Speaker 4: Very Nordic has said that the ten.
Speaker 1: Million doses that Africa CDC has said they need that
Speaker 1: they can actually supply all of it by the end
Speaker 1: of next year. So they are certainly probably the first
Speaker 1: and foremost piece of the puzzle in terms of vaccines.
Speaker 2: And Jennie, stick with us because we want to talk
Speaker 2: more about the impact on children, especially who based on
Speaker 2: our reporting, accounts for most of the deaths, and how
Speaker 2: potentially children may miss out on the vaccines. So stick
Speaker 2: with us and we'll talk with you after the break.
Speaker 2: Welcome back. Today we're looking at how African nations are
Speaker 2: responding to the empox outbreak causing concern across the world.
Speaker 4: Jennis q is here. Janis.
Speaker 2: We talked about vaccines, but the draft vaccine plans haven't
Speaker 2: specifically mentioned how shots will be ruled out for children.
Speaker 4: You touched on this briefly, but why not?
Speaker 2: Why haven't we seen this, especially considering the statistics at
Speaker 2: this point in time.
Speaker 1: I think the fact that very Nordic hasn't been specifically
Speaker 1: listed for use in children may have contributed to that.
Speaker 1: I don't think the fact that children haven't been specifically
Speaker 1: mentioned means.
Speaker 4: That they will not get vaccine.
Speaker 1: I do think, though, that there is a likelihood that
Speaker 1: there will be a delay, hopefully not a long one,
Speaker 1: but a delay in getting vaccine into children.
Speaker 4: This is largely.
Speaker 1: Because the discussions with the Japanese company came by logics
Speaker 1: are still underway, and my understanding at this point is
Speaker 1: that is the vaccine that they would likely.
Speaker 4: Use in children. It has been used in children in
Speaker 4: Asia before.
Speaker 2: Is there con concern that that isn't the approach at
Speaker 2: this point in time, Janeus, I mean that adults are
Speaker 2: going to be the first one's vaccinated.
Speaker 4: Children can't for.
Speaker 1: More than eighty percent of the EMPUC states in the Congo,
Speaker 1: and so them not being first in line is a concern.
Speaker 1: The pediatric vaccine plan is not clear at the stage,
Speaker 1: and I would imagine that age organization and doctors and
Speaker 1: people on the ground are not at all happy with
Speaker 1: the facts that there isn't a clear and specific plan
Speaker 1: for children to be getting this vaccine quickly. It is
Speaker 1: a complicated and tricky situation. Getting vaccines rolled arts is
Speaker 1: as important as getting vaccines on the ground.
Speaker 4: We saw with COVID that Africa was last.
Speaker 1: In line to get vaccines and when they eventually arrived,
Speaker 1: there was logistical problems with the road arts and there
Speaker 1: was also a lot of hesitat and see with people
Speaker 1: questioning whether they actually needed the vaccine. The Africa CDC
Speaker 1: and Helen Rees who's advising she's part of an advisory
Speaker 1: committee for the Wealth Health Organization. She spoke to Bloomberg
Speaker 1: TV recently and was saying that she does not think
Speaker 1: that there will be a problem with hesitancy this time around,
Speaker 1: that this is a disease that has caused a lot
Speaker 1: of problems in various communities and specifically in the Congo region,
Speaker 1: and so people will probably accept the vaccine quite readily,
Speaker 1: which is good news.
Speaker 4: I do hope that is the.
Speaker 1: Case, but that doesn't take away from the fact that
Speaker 1: there are these other logistical issues in getting the vaccines
Speaker 1: rolled out, in ensuring that they are safe to be
Speaker 1: given to children.
Speaker 2: So, in a sense, is the overall feeling that authorities
Speaker 2: are still sort of on the back foot and getting
Speaker 2: a hold of what's happening right now, or people confident
Speaker 2: that we're not doing a repeat of what we saw
Speaker 2: during COVID and other outbreaks.
Speaker 1: I think there is growing confidence that it is not
Speaker 1: going to be a repeat of COVID.
Speaker 4: The World Health Organization set art a prevention.
Speaker 1: And preparedness plan this week, and that is an effort
Speaker 1: to ready coordinate all these efforts. I think when there
Speaker 1: is an artbreak and there is an emergency, and it's
Speaker 1: easy to panic, and it's easy for governments individually to
Speaker 1: reach out to the vaccine makers and for everyone to
Speaker 1: want to make sure that they are being taken care
Speaker 1: of or at least are taking care of their people.
Speaker 1: The WHO has always provided a sort of coordination effort
Speaker 1: and the EFFRICACYDC has moved in very strongly this time around,
Speaker 1: made sure that they're in the driving seat, that they're
Speaker 1: marshaling resources, and there is a lot of evidence that
Speaker 1: is happening globally We've seen responses from the United States
Speaker 1: and many others saying that they are prepared to donate
Speaker 1: friends and in some cases vaccines themselves, because some of
Speaker 1: these countries had stop poles of empox vaccine from the
Speaker 1: twenty twenty two to twenty twenty three outbreak. So I
Speaker 1: don't think we're going to see a repeat of COVID.
Speaker 1: That being said, there are still bottlenecks and there is
Speaker 1: a lot that scientists do not yet know about the
Speaker 1: specific glade one B which appears to be a fueling
Speaker 1: this outbreak, and.
Speaker 4: They are still scrambling to get enough information.
Speaker 1: Unfortunately, we may not have been in a situation of
Speaker 1: a mutated strain if Africa had these vaccines some years ago.
Speaker 4: It is a difficult situation, but one.
Speaker 1: That I do think all all the agencies are responding
Speaker 1: to as best they can. It does feel to me
Speaker 1: a little bit like it was a situation of weights, wait, weights,
Speaker 1: and then hurry up and are a little bit more
Speaker 1: weights because they're trying to.
Speaker 4: Get all the pieces of the puzzle together.
Speaker 1: But do you think that there is a motivation and
Speaker 1: focus to get that job done now?
Speaker 2: Well, we know as those pieces continue to come together,
Speaker 2: you will be all over the story, but we appreciate
Speaker 2: you coming back onto the podcast and giving us an update.
Speaker 2: Jennis Q, thanks so much for your reporting, and you
Speaker 2: can read all the latest coverage on the outbreak on
Speaker 2: Bloomberg News platforms. As Jenna said, this is still an
Speaker 2: evolving situation and even as vaccinations commence in the DRC,
Speaker 2: there are still more questions than answers about the mutated strain. Fortunately,
Speaker 2: though officials do seem committed to avoiding some of the
Speaker 2: mistakes made for the continent during the COVID nineteen pandemic.
Speaker 2: This program was produced by Adrian Bradley. Don't forget to
Speaker 2: follow and review the show wherever you usually get your podcasts.
Speaker 2: I'm Jennifer's Abasaga. Thanks as always for listening.