In health news, authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo say they are hopeful the country will receive its first doses of mpox vaccines by next week, after pledges from the U.S. and Japan. The World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency last week. But the disease has overwhelmingly affected West and Central African nations so far, especially the DRC, where mpox was already endemic but access to vaccines is low or nonexistent. One of the strains detected is believed to be more lethal than previous ones. Even when not deadly, mpox can cause fever, rashes and extremely painful lesions. Children are particularly vulnerable.

Meanwhile, shares of mpox vaccine manufacturers are surging following the WHO public health emergency declaration. GeoVax Labs, Tonix Pharmaceuticals and Emergent BioSolutions are some of the companies hoping to profit from the mpox crisis.