More than an additional 100,000 vaccine doses have been procured by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to deal with the ongoing Monkeypox outbreak.
Monkeypox is a rare infection which is mainly spread by wild animals in parts of west or central Africa. The risk of catching it in the UK tends to be low, however, as of Monday, June 18, the total number of cases reported by the (UKHSA) has risen to 2,137 - 2,050 of which are in England.
The additional doses of the smallpox vaccine will enable more people to be vaccinated to prevent infection and limit transmission of the virus. The doses will arrive from the manufacturer, Bavarian Nordic, this month, with the remainder expected by September. The UK previously procured nearly 30,000 doses, enabling the NHS to begin the rollout of the vaccine programme to individuals who are most likely to acquire the virus.
