In a bid to reduce the number of monkeypox cases in UK, the UK Health Protection Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that some gay and bis*xual men will be offered the Imvanex vaccines – which is 85 percent effective.
Men who are gay or bis*xual or have s*x with men who are most at risk of catching monkeypox will be given the vaccines to prevent the largest outbreak of the disease beyond Africa.
In a statement released on Tuesday by (UKHSA), it states that doctors may consider vaccination for some men who are gay or bis*xual and men who have s*x with men at the highest risk of exposure, whom they call “multiple partners, defined as people with (who participate) in group s*x or (attend) ‘s*x on campus’ places.”
“By expanding the vaccine offering to people at high risk, we hope to break the chain of transmission and help prevent outbreaks,” said Dr. Mary Ramsay, the Health Protection Agency’s head of vaccination.
Last month, a key adviser to the World Health Organization said the monkeypox outbreak beyond Africa was likely spread by sexual acts by men on the waves in Spain and Belgium.
Vaccines were previously only available to healthcare workers caring for monkeypox patients or to cleaners disinfecting areas contaminated with the virus. The vaccine was originally developed for smallpox, a related disease, but is thought to be about 85 percent effective against monkeypox.
To date, more than 99 percent of monkeypox cases in the UK are in men, and the majority of them are in men who are gay, bis*xual, or who have s*x with men. Scientists warn that anyone who is in close physical contact with someone infected with monkeypox or their clothing or bedsheets, regardless of their s*xual orientation, is at risk of disease.
There are currently 793 cases of monkeypox in the UK, out of more than 2,100 cases in 42 countries globally. No deaths have been reported beyond Africa.
Until last month, monkeypox had only caused widespread outbreaks in the Central and West Africa, the continent has so far reported more than 1,500 cases and 72 suspected deaths in a separate pandemic. Vaccines have never been used to control monkeypox in Africa.
Last week, World Health Organization Director-General; Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the continued spread of monkeypox in countries that had not previously viewed the disease as “unusual and concerning”.
Tedros has called for an expert meeting to be held on Thursday to decide whether the expanded monkeypox outbreak warrants declaring a global emergency. This would give it the same designation as the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing effort to eradicate polio.
