Smallpox Vaccine Commitment Tracker
On June 13, 2022, Public Citizen sent a letter to the Biden administration urging the U.S. to fulfill its pledge to share smallpox vaccines with the World Health Organization (WHO), and help lead the global response against mpox.
According to a 2024 WHO document, the WHO Smallpox Vaccine Emergency Stockpile consists of a physical stockpile of 2.7 million doses of vaccine held and managed in Switzerland by the WHO Secretariat, of which an inventory was completed in January 2023, and a pledged stockpile of 28 million doses held by the Member States: France, Germany, Japan and the United States of America. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland provided a financial contribution to procure vaccine for the WHO physical stockpile.
Public Citizen identified the specific national commitments from a review of publicly available records. The tracker is up to date as of January 2024 (originally published June 15, 2022).
| Country | Pledged Doses | Source |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 20 million | HHS |
| France | 5 million | WHO |
| Germany | 2 million | German reports |
| Japan | Unknown (likely ~1 million) | WHO |
Note: In September 2023, WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) noted that most of the roughly 30 million doses of vaccines available in the WHO physical and pledged reserve are first-generation vaccines, with fewer doses of second- (ACAM2000) and third-generation (LC16-KMB) vaccines. SAGE recommended adding the third-generation vaccine, MVA-BN, to current reserves. SAGE additionally recommended that the size of the reserve and access to it be reviewed, and allocation processes be considered, particularly for low- and middle-income countries.