Gay and bisexual males who are at a ‘high risk’ of contracting monkeypox will be offered a vaccine to protect them, according to health officials.
In the United Kingdom, around 800 cases of the virus, which is normally only seen in Africa, have been documented.
So far, almost all infections have been found in guys who have sex with other men.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has stated that some gay and bisexual males will be administered the Imvanex vaccine to contain the outbreak, which is 85 percent effective.
Medics will provide the vaccine to men who have several partners, participate in group intercourse, or attend ‘sex on premises’ venues, according to the proposals, which were developed by the same experts who advised on the Covid vaccine distribution.
Until today, the vaccine was only available to confirmed cases and their close relatives as part of a ring vaccination strategy that has been shown to work in prior outbreaks.
If infections continue to rise, experts warned MailOnline a fortnight ago that expanding the vaccination program in a targeted rollout to more men who have sex with males, anyone visiting a sexual health clinic, and NHS workers would be the next logical step.
It comes as specialists behind grim simulations used to justify lockdown restrictions warned Covid-weary Britons today that the monkeypox outbreak might grow tenfold. However, the modeling revealed that any increase in cases among groups other than gay and bisexual males was ‘unlikely.’
Meanwhile, British health officials confirmed another 219 infections today, increasing the total number of infections in the UK to 793. The capital of the United Kingdom is a viral hotspot.
The outbreak has affected dozens of nations, including the United States, Spain, and Germany. It is the largest outbreak ever recorded outside of Africa.
Almost majority of the illnesses so far have been found in the community of males who have intercourse with other men.
The UKHSA released a strategy today that stated that some gay and bisexual men who are at a “higher risk” of monkeypox exposure should be offered a vaccine to help control the outbreak.
The number of men who will be included in the rollout has yet to be determined by officials.
Anyone can contract the virus, which is spread by intimate contact with an infected individual. However, the majority of cases in the present spike are among ‘sexual networks’ of males who have sex with men.
Monkeypox, which will be renamed due to claims that it is anti-African, is not generally a sexually transmitted sickness.
However, it is likely to be the primary method of transmission in the current outbreak.
The virus, first discovered in lab monkeys in the 1950s, can also be spread through touching clothing, bedding or towels used by someone who is infected.
Under the plans, endorsed by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), those eligible for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) — a pill that protects against HIV — will also be eligible for the vaccine.
This includes people who do not always use condoms during sex and are likely to continue not using them, as well as sex workers or their clients who report having unprotected sex.
NHS England is due to set out details on how eligible people can get vaccinated. People are advised not to come forward for the vaccine until contacted.
As well as gay and bisexual men, the list of NHS staff eligible for the jab is also being expanded.
Healthcare workers caring for monkeypox patients in specialist high consequence infectious disease (HICD) wards are already offered the jab. But now staff in other hospitals designed to care for monkeypox patients will also be offered the jab, as well as workers in laboratories that test for the virus.
Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at UKHSA, said: ‘Our extensive contact tracing work has helped to limit the spread of the monkeypox virus, but we are continuing to see a notable proportion of cases in gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.
‘By expanding the vaccine offer to those at higher risk, we hope to break chains of transmission and help contain the outbreak.
‘Although most cases are mild, severe illness can occur in some people, so it is important we use the available vaccine to target groups where spread is ongoing. The NHS will soon set out details on how this will be delivered – so do not come forward for the vaccine yet.’
The UKHSA is urging all Britons to be alert to any new spots, ulcers or blisters on any part of their body, particularly if they have had close contact with a new partner. Those with symptoms are told to avoid close contact with others and call NHS 111 or your local sexual health centre.
Alex Sparrowhawk, health promotion specialist at HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust, said: ‘This targeted vaccination programme is a positive move forward while the data still shows monkeypox is disproportionately affecting gay and bisexual men in the UK.’
Robbie de Santos, director of communications and external affairs at LGBT charity Stonewall said it welcomed the vaccine being offered to those who are most at risk of catching the virus.
He said: ‘It is important that gay and bi men get the vaccine when offered to protect themselves and others. Let’s help get the outbreak under control so we can all have a safe and happy pride season.’
It comes as the UKHSA today confirmed Britain’s outbreak has grown by 38 per cent since Friday to 793.
Among the 766 cases with confirmed addresses, 498 are in London, 37 are in the South East and 26 are in the North West. All other regions have logged 20 cases or fewer.
Public Health Scotland on Sunday said that all cases appear to be ‘generally mild and not life-threatening’ with no reported deaths in the UK to date.
Monkeypox cases have been aged 37, on average, health bosses said.
Meanwhile, scientists behind the monkeypox modelling that warned of another 10,000 cases include Professor John Edmunds, an LSHTM epidemiologist who was among the most outspoken SAGE members during the Covid outbreak.
Two other study authors are also Government advisers, sitting on the notorious SPI-M modelling committee. It warned of up to 6,000 deaths per day in the run-up to the Christmas just gone, despite the actual peak being 20 times lower.
Without tough interventions, they also warned Omicron could potentially cause daily hospitalisations to breach 10,000 — quadruple the figure that happened in reality.
In their latest modelling, Professor Edmunds and other LSHTM scientists looked at how monkeypox could keep spreading.
Their estimates were based on sexual partnership data in the UK, gathered from a survey of 45,000 people that is conducted every decade.
At the time of the modelling on May 31, 728 confirmed and suspected cases had been reported worldwide in more than 25 countries. Since then, almost 3,000 infections have been logged worldwide.
The results, published on pre-print website medRxiv, show that without interventions or changes in sexual behaviour, it is ‘highly likely’ that a ‘major outbreak’ would be seen among men who have sex with men.
A major outbreak was defined as being at least another 10,000 cases, on top of the ones already detected.
The modellers said their findings, which have not been peer-reviewed, show that a ‘small fraction’ of individuals with a ‘disproportionately large’ number of sexual partners could explain the ‘sustained growth’ of monkeypox among men who have sex with men.
Monkeypox likely always had the risk of ‘substantial transmission potential’ among this community, their paper states.
But it has not been able to take off because too few cases have been logged outside of Africa over the past few decades, they said.
However, the team said sustained transmission in other groups is ‘unlikely’.
But they noted that between 10 and 10,000 extra cases could be spotted outside of the men who have sex with men community if lots of this group become infected.
The monkeypox R rate — a term made famous during the pandemic, which reflects the number of people an infected person passes the virus onto — may be ‘substantially greater than one’ which could make it challenging to contain the outbreak, their paper states.
Contact tracing and vaccinating close contacts of infected people — the approaches used in the UK — only work if almost all contacts of an infected person are identified, they warned.
They said experts should identify ‘acceptable and effective’ ways of preventing transmission among men with the highest number of sexual partners who could have a ‘disproportionate effect on transmission overall’.
Monkeypox is relatively mild, with an incubation period of up to 21 days, meaning the symptoms can take up to three weeks to show.
Fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, and tiredness are some of the symptoms. A rash can appear, usually on the face, and extend to other parts of the body, including the genitals.
However, it has the potential to kill up to 10% of those infected. However, the current outbreak’s milder form has a case-fatality rate of roughly one in 100, which is similar to when Covid originally appeared.
There have been no confirmed deaths linked to the ongoing outbreak.
Spain (497), Germany (421), and Portugal (297) have the most infections outside of the UK.
Experts have cautioned that if the virus spreads to pets and wildlife, monkeypox might become endemic among animals in Europe, as it is in areas of Nigeria. This would make animals a permanent reservoir of the virus, allowing it to infect humans and cause sporadic outbreaks.