No monkeypox vaccinations will be given out to Wirral residents until September as doses run out across the UK but local cases remain low.
Vaccinations are currently available in Liverpool, Knowsley, Halton, and parts of Cheshire but not in the Wirral.
It was reported on August 10 that vaccine doses across the UK could run out in less than 20 days. This means that those at risk in the Wirral are unlikely to receive a vaccination until at least September when 100,000 doses become available.
READ MORE: Liverpool now offering Monkeypox vaccines to those at highest risk
Councillor Jason Walsh, a spokesperson for Wirral Council’s Adult Health and Social Care Committee, said he would like to see vaccinations offered in the Wirral as soon as possible.
He said: “Well it doesn’t seem like we’ll be getting doses anytime soon. You would expect doses would go to bigger population centres but people travel.
“What we saw from the pandemic is that things can travel quite quickly. I think the wider response has been disappointing.”
Cllr Walsh also said he would like to see services under Liverpool and Cheshire councils working together to deliver doses: “Lots of people who live on the Wirral work in Liverpool and vice versa and we are connected together and in the same way, Cheshire too.
On August 8, there were fewer than five cases of monkeypox on the Wirral with six in Liverpool and between five and ten in Cheshire.
Cllr Walsh asked the Council on July 25 to provide more information about what it is doing to tackle monkeypox cases as well as a report into sexual health provision more widely.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is in charge of the monkeypox response but councils are responsible for overseeing sexual health services who have been administering vaccine doses.
UKHSA said the number of areas given doses should expand in September when more vaccines become available. In Wirral, sexual health services and the council are identifying those who are eligible for a vaccine so they can be given to those most at risk when available.
Wirral Council and other partners will be present as upcoming events like Pride at the Seaside in New Brighton on August 27 to raise awareness.
50,000 doses of smallpox vaccine, which is effective against monkeypox, were made available since the beginning of the outbreak. However doses were diverted to cities like Manchester and London where most cases have been. Due to high demand and the number of people at risk, vaccine doses are expected to run out before the end of August.
Cllr Walsh also said that messaging needs to be done correctly. He said: “We need positive messaging without stigma. Men who have sex with men tend to have more sex which is fine but because of that, there is a lot of stigma and we need to make sure we get the messaging right.
“Everyone who is at risk should have access to vaccinations.”
Early symptoms of Monkeypox include high temperature, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen glands, shivering and exhaustion, with a rash usually appearing up to five days after the first symptoms.
Monkeypox rarely passes between people but can be passed on via close person-to-person contact or contact with items used by a person who has the virus, such as clothes, bedding or utensils.
Anyone in the Wirral who is concerned that they could be infected with monkeypox are advised to:
Contact NHS 111 or call Wirral Sexual Health Clinic on 0300 123 5474.
Avoid close personal or sexual contact with others until they know that this is not monkeypox.
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