The Australian government has bought 450,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine, including 22,000 that will arrive this week and next.
The third-generation Bavarian-Nordic vaccine will be prioritised for at-risk groups including gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, especially those travelling to countries with a significant outbreak.
Australia has so far only had 58 cases of monkeypox in the 13 weeks since the virus began spreading in 76 countries outside those where it has been endemic for years.
On 28 July monkeypox was declared a “communicable disease incident of national significance” in Australia after a declaration by the World Health Organization.
On Thursday the health minister, Mark Butler, told reporters in Canberra that the Morrison government had begun negotiations for the third-generation vaccine on 20 May, just one day after the first case in Australia and one day before the federal election.
After 27 meetings, Australia has bought 450,000 doses including 100,000 to arrive this year and the remaining 350,000 in 2023. The vaccine can be used to prevent spread and post-exposure.
Monkeypox can also be prevented with a smallpox vaccine, ACAM2000, which is registered for use in Australia and contained in the national medical stockpile, but that vaccine uses a weakened live pox virus, making it unsuitable for the immunocompromised.
Butler said the third-generation Bavarian-Nordic vaccine was “by far the more effective and user-friendly for patients with compromised immunity”. It could also be administered to pregnant women, children and those with skin conditions.
The minister said the government had procured the “world’s best vaccines for Australians and we are one of only a very limited number of countries that have been able to secure supplies of this third-generation vaccine in 2022 in a highly contested market”.
“We will be rolling out the vaccine through state and territory largely, central health clinics,” he said, starting with the at-risk cohorts identified by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
These are: people categorised as a high-risk monkeypox contact in the past 14 days; gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men with a high number of sexual contacts; sex workers; and immunisation providers who are administering the ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine.
“I’m very pleased with the work the chief medical officer and the department have been able to do in a short period of time, particularly the secure the supply of vaccines in a highly contested global market,” Butler said
He noted that case numbers had “increased quite quickly” around the world, to more than 25,000 including 6,000 in the US, 4,000 in Spain, and 3,000 in the UK but Australia had “managed to avoid the worst elements you have seen in North America and Europe”.
The chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, said he would not “pick a number” of estimated total cases. “But the important thing is all the work done since May in Australia, and the added benefit of the vaccine, will continue to help us to control the epidemic here in Australia and I’m very confident that will happen.”
The Australian Federation of Aids Organisations acting chief executive, Heath Paynter, said “the swift procurement of these vaccines is a very positive step”.
“While local transmission of Monkeypox has so far been limited, we can’t rely on that to continue,” he said. “Cities such as London, Montreal, Lisbon and Madrid are all dealing with significant community transmission.”
“The availability of the monkeypox vaccine for people who need it is a critical forward defence against transmission. It will help people look after their own health as well as that of people they are intimate with.”
Dr Nick Medland, a sexual health specialist and researcher at the Kirby Institute, said: “We expect the outbreak will begin to slow after 75,000 members of our community have had one dose of the vaccine and may not be eliminated until 250,000 doses have been administered to those who need them most.”
Monkeypox results in rashes and flu-like symptoms, which Kelly said in July were “relatively mild, and in most cases, resolve themselves within two to four weeks without the need for specific treatments”.
“Although monkeypox is not usually considered a sexually transmissible infection, physical contact with an infected person during sexual intercourse carries a significant risk of transmission and intimate physical contact such as hugging, kissing and sexual activities represent a risk of infection, with infectious skin sores being the likely mode of transmission,” he said.
“The rash usually occurs on the face before spreading to other parts of the body, including the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. However, in this outbreak it is being seen especially on the genital and perianal regions of affected people.”
