In race for monkeypox vaccines, experts see repeat of COVID

A sign urges the release of the monkeypox vaccine during a protest in San Francisco, July 18, 2022.

Moves by rich countries to buy large quantities of monkeypox vaccine, while declining to share doses with Africa, could leave millions of people unprotected against a more dangerous version of the disease and risk continued spillovers of the virus into humans, public health officials are warning.

Critics fear a repeat of the catastrophic inequity problems seen during the coronavirus pandemic.