World oral cholera vaccine stockpile empty, says WHO

Global shortage of oral cholera vaccines jeopardizes outbreak response efforts, with demand outpacing supply, WHO reports.

There are no more oral cholera vaccines left in the global stockpile, the World Health Organization said on Friday, October 18, 2023, with the shortage jeopardising work to stop the disease's spread.

Global vaccine production is operating at full capacity, but demand is outpacing supply, the UN health agency said in its monthly situation report.

"As of October 14, the global stockpile of oral cholera vaccine is depleted, with no remaining doses available," the WHO said.

"Although more doses are expected in the coming weeks, this shortage poses significant challenges to outbreak response efforts and hampers efforts to control the spread of the disease."

The WHO said that between September 1 and October 14, the International Coordinating Group on vaccine provision received requests for oral cholera vaccines from Bangladesh, Sudan, Niger, Ethiopia and Myanmar.

The requests amounted to a total of 8.4 million doses, but due to limited availability, only 7.6 million doses could be shipped.

The WHO said there had been 4,39,724 cholera cases and 3,432 deaths reported this year up to September 29.