Congo finally begins mpox vaccinations in a drive to slow outbreaks

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congolese authorities Saturday began vaccinations against mpox, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread from Congo to several African countries and beyond was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization.

The 265,000 doses donated to Congo by the European Union and the U.S. were rolled out in the eastern city of Goma in North Kivu province, where hospitals and health workers have been overstretched, struggling to contain the new and possibly more infectious strain of mpox.

Congo, with about 30,000 suspected mpox cases and 859 deaths, accounts for more than 80% of all the cases and 99% of all the deaths reported in Africa this year. All of the Central African nation’s 26 provinces have recorded mpox cases.

Although most mpox infections and deaths recorded in Congo are in children under age 15, the doses being administered are only meant for adults and will be given to at-risk populations and front-line workers, Health Minister Roger Kamba said this week.

“Strategies have been put in place by the services in order to vaccinate all targeted personnel,” Muboyayi ChikayaI, the minister's chief of staff, said as he kicked off the vaccination.

At least 3 million doses of the vaccine approved for use in children are expected from Japan in the coming days, Kamba said.

Mpox, also known as monkeypox, had been spreading mostly undetected for years in Africa before the disease prompted the 2022 global outbreak that saw wealthy countries quickly respond with vaccines from their stockpiles while Africa received only a few doses despite pleas from its governments.

However, unlike the global outbreak in 2022 that was overwhelmingly focused in gay and bisexual men, mpox in Africa is now being spread via sexual transmission as well as through close contact among children, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups, Dr. Dimie Ogoina, the chair of WHO’s mpox emergency committee, recently told reporters.

More than 34,000 suspected cases and 866 deaths from the virus have been recorded across 16 countries in Africa this year. That is a 200% increase compared to the same period last year, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

But access to vaccines remains a challenge.

The continent of 1.4 billion people has only secured commitment for 5.9 million doses of mpox vaccines, expected to be available from October through December, Dr. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa CDC, told reporters last week. Congo remains a priority, he said.

At the vaccination drive in Goma, Dr. Jean Bruno Ngenze, the WHO representative in the province, warned that North Kivu is at a risk of a major outbreak due to the “promiscuity observed in the camps” for displaced people, as one of the world's biggest humanitarian crisis caused by armed violence unfolds there.

The news of the vaccination program brought relief among many in Congo, especially in hospitals that had been struggling to manage the outbreak.

“If everyone could be vaccinated, it would be even better to stop the spread of the disease,” said Dr. Musole Mulambamunva Robert, the medical director of Kavumu Hospital, one of the mpox treatment centers in eastern Congo.

Eastern Congo has been beset by conflict for years, with more than 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich area near the border with Rwanda. Some have been accused of carrying out mass killings.

Associated Press writers Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo and Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria contributed to this report.

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org

A nurse holds a bottle of mpox vaccine at the General hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Health workers prepare to administer mpox vaccine to members of the public at the General hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

A health worker is photographed during mpox vaccination, at the General hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Health workers are photographed during mpox vaccination at the General hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

A nurse prepares to administer a vaccine against mpox, at the General hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

A man receives a vaccination against mpox, at the General hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

A man receives a vaccination against mpox, at the General hospital, in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

CLEVELAND (AP) — Lane Thomas hit a three-run homer in a five-run outburst before Detroit got an out, and the Cleveland Guardians unleashed their lights-out bullpen to complete a four-hitter in a 7-0 win over the Tigers in an AL Division Series opener on Saturday.

Thomas' shot — on his first career postseason swing — helped the Guardians cool off the Tigers, who stormed into the playoffs with a second-half surge before sweeping AL West champion Houston in the wild-card round.

“It started with the guys in front of me,” Thomas said.

Tanner Bibee pitched 4 2/3 innings before Guardians manager Stephen Vogt swung the door open to baseball's best bullpen to finish off the Tigers. Relievers combined for 4 1/3 hitless innings to finish and match the largest shutout victory margin in Cleveland postseason history.

Detroit struck 13 out times and didn't get a runner past first in the final four innings.

Cleveland's bullpen was as advertised. Rookie Cade Smith (1-0) replaced Bibee and struck out all four batters. Tim Herrin took care of the seventh, Hunter Gaddis the eighth, and Emmanuel Clase, who led the AL with 47 saves, worked the ninth.

“It’s incredible. to come out and do what they do, day in and day out, especially during the season, 162 (games), it shows what we have back there,” Thomas said.

David Fry added a two-run, sixth-inning double for the AL Central champion Guardians, who were unaffected by not playing for almost a week with a first-round bye.

Game 2 is Monday, when the Tigers will turn to Tarik Skubal, the favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award, to try and even the best-of-five series.

The 2,327th meeting between Detroit and Cleveland was the first between the franchises and Central division rivals in the postseason.

It was as good as over after one inning.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch has made the right decisions for months as his young club went from being under .500 at the trade deadline to qualifying for the postseason with a 33-13 flourish since Aug. 11.

Hinch used his bullpen in Game 1 from the start and it backfired.

The Guardians sent nine batters to the plate in the first with Thomas' moon shot into the left-field bleachers opening the 5-0 lead. Cleveland became the first team in AL postseason history to score five runs before recording an out.

Steven Kwan got it rolling with a leadoff double against Tigers starter Tyler Holton (0-1) and Fry walked. José Ramírez followed with a hard hopper to third that Zach McKinstry misplayed for an error, allowing Kwan to score.

Josh Naylor's RBI single made it 2-0 and Hinch pulled Holton after just four batters to bring in Reese Olson — the move blew up in seconds.

Thomas, who batted just .143 with 33 strikeouts in his first month with Cleveland after being acquired from Washington in July, made his first postseason at-bat with the Guardians unforgettable.

He turned on Olson's first pitch — a slider down the heart of the plate — and launched it over the wall, sending the majority of 33,548 fans inside Progressive Field into a frenzy.

Bibee admitted feeling nerves ahead of the opener, and he showed some in the first.

He gave up a one-out single and hit Riley Greene with two outs, prompting a visit from pitching coach Carl Willis. Bibee got Colt Keith on a lazy fly for the final out on his 27th pitch.

Taking the mound in the second with a five-run lead helped Bibee settle in. The right-hander gave up four hits and struck out six.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb, a candidate to start Game 3, was added to the ALDS roster after finishing the regular season on the injured list with a blister on his middle finger. Cobb's postseason experience — he beat Cleveland in the 2013 wild-card round with Tampa Bay — certainly helped his cause along with being a former teammate of Vogt's. Cobb was acquired in a July trade from San Francisco.

UP NEXT

Skubal led the AL in wins (18), ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228). The left-hander is expected to face Guardians RHP Matthew Boyd, who spent eight seasons with the Tigers and remains close friends with Skubal.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee is greeted as he returns to the dugout after being taken out of the game in the fifth inning during Game 1 of baseball's AL Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Detroit Tigers' Zach McKinstry celebrates a hitting a double at second base during the second inning of Game 1 of baseball's AL Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Cleveland Guardians' Andres Gimenez, right, steals second base as Detroit Tigers shortstop Trey Sweeney takes the throw in the third inning during Game 1 of baseball's AL Division Series, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez, right, throws the ball to first base after forcing out Detroit Tigers' Colt Keith (33) at second base on a double play ball hit by Spencer Torkelson in the fourth inning during Game 1 of baseball's AL Division Series, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Fans cheer in the fifth inning during Game 1 of baseball's AL Division Series between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, left, and Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, right, greet each other before Game 1 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Cleveland Guardians' Tim Herrin pitches in the seventh inning during Game 1 of baseball's AL Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Cleveland Guardians' Cade Smith pitches in the sixth inning during Game 1 of baseball's AL Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Tyler Holton (87) is taken out of the game in the first inning during Game 1 of baseball's AL Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Cleveland Guardians' Lane Thomas (8) is greeted at the plate by teammates Josh Naylor, rear and third baseman Jose Ramirez, second right, in front of Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers, right, after hitting a home run in the first inning during Game 1 of baseball's AL Division Series, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan celebrates his double at second base in the first inning during Game 1 of the baseball's American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Cleveland Guardians' Lane Thomas shouts as he runs the bases after hitting a home run in the first inning during Game 1 of baseball's AL Division Series against the Detroit Tigers, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)