Monkeypox continues to spread in the U.K., with confirmed cases reaching 2,469 and there are more than 21,000 monkeypox cases across almost 80 countries have been reported since May.
On 28th July 2022 the Co Chairs Steve Brine MP, Rt Hon David Mundell MP, Baroness Barker and Vice Chair Lloyd Russell Moyle MP held an urgent meeting with the Public Health Minister to discuss the situation surrounding MonkeyPox.
On Wednesday 20th July 2022 the All Party Parliamentary Group HIV and AIDSvisited 56 Dean Street the largest sexual health clinic in the UK, where were heard first-hand how it was affecting people accessing PrEP, HIV services and Family planning services.
A week ago, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization,declaredthe multi-country outbreak of monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern.
Steve Brine MP – Co Chair said:
“We were told by the doctors at 56 Dean St that Monkeypox is hitting all their services.Their normal services have been cut by 25% as they have had to divert to tackling the growing number of cases.
“56 Dean Street asked us to urge the government and UKHSA to act urgently in addressing this issue and to put a plan in place, as the current situation every clinic and GP service are doing their own thing.
“The Minister advised us that they have procured 150,000 doses of the vaccine that will be made available by the end of September.We were also told that the UKHSA have identified 35,000 people who are eligible for the vaccine.However, 56 Dean Street has over 35,000 eligible patients on their books alone, each one requiring a double dose. The British Association on Sexual Health and HIV have advised that there needs to be at least 250,000 vaccines made available.We were also told that Brighton has only received 1000 doses.
"We saw on the weekend that the walk-in clinic at Guys Hospital stopped seeing people at 10am on Sunday as they ran out of vaccines. Demand is outnumbering Supply.
“We urged the minister that more vaccines are needed, more needs to be done in other parts of the UK, assistance to sexual health clinics and communication needs to improve if we are to get ahead of the curve. It seems that we haven’t learnt the lessons from Covid and the AIDS pandemic.
“We also advised that testing for monkeypox and the delivery of the vaccine gives us an opportunity to test people for HIV and offer PrEP to ensure that we are still on track to meeting the goals of the HIV Action Plan.
“We look forward to working with the Minister, her officials, sexual health clinics and the voluntary sector to ensure we get this right.