The roll-out of the monkeypox vaccine will begin across Australia this week, with priority given to those most at risk of contracting the disease.
The federal government has secured almost half a million doses of the Jynneos smallpox vaccine, with 22,000 doses in the first batch, and it will be available mostly from state and territory sexual health clinics.
How will the monkeypox vaccine be used?
The vaccine can be used to prevent the transmission of monkeypox virus or as a post-exposure treatment so that people can get some protection after being exposed to the virus. Guidelines have been established for who is eligible for the limited number of vaccine doses. jointly by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (ATAGI). According to ATAGI, intimate partners and people who live with someone who has been confirmed to have the virus or have had close physical contact with an infected person will be among the first to get access to the vaccine.
Given that 98 percent of those who have contracted the virus in the current outbreak in Australia have been gay or bisexual men, it is understood that these groups are at greater risk of exposure to monkeypox and will be prioritized access to vaccines.
How many cases of monkey pox have been recorded in Australia?
While the Department of Health has not provided a breakdown of how vaccine doses will be distributed between states and territories, it is understood NSW will be sent 5,500 of the initial 22,000 doses.
It is here that 31 of the 57 cases of monkeypox recorded in Australia have been identified.
Is there enough monkeypox vaccine?
Director of the HIV Epidemiology and Prevention Program at the University of NSW’s Kirby Institute, Professor Andrew Grulich, said it seemed likely that Australia would seek to vaccinate the majority of gay and bisexual men in the country. “very good amount”, but the situation should be monitored as “if the virus started to spread more widely, more doses would probably be needed”.
“We need to monitor this epidemic just to make sure it doesn’t spread beyond the populations that are currently being affected,” he said.
Australia has secured access to 450,000 doses of the ‘third generation’ monkeypox vaccine. Source: Getty/SyhinStas
ACON Health acting CEO Karen Price said procuring these vaccines was an “excellent start” but pointed to the changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of how “unprecedented virus outbreaks can pose challenges.” knowing what the trajectory of this virus will be, he said.
“Essentially, we understand that there are two doses that people need for maximum protection; There is some uncertainty about how long it will last and how often it will need to be boosted or how often the vaccine should be given.
“It’s important that there are efforts to make sure there are enough vaccines for the demand.”
“No way” monkeypox vaccine can cause disease
A smallpox vaccine that also protects against smallpox (ACAM2000) is now available in Australia, but its potentially rare but serious side effects meant it was not recommended for mass vaccinations.
It was the use of live virus in ACAM2000 that increased the risks for those who are immunocompromised.
Professor Grulich said potential side effects from the monkeypox vaccine that Australia already had access to but was not widely administering were not a concern with the Jynneos vaccine, made by Danish company Bavarian Nordic.
“The third-generation vaccine is based on a virus that cannot replicate. Therefore, there is no way it can cause disease, even in an immune-deficient person, and because of this, it is safe to give to all the populations,” he said.
NSW has recorded the most cases of the virus so far. Source: iStockphoto/angelp/Getty Images
Should we rename monkey pox to avoid stigma?
Ms Price said not only is there stigma around the monkeypox virus, but its spread in the gay community could also be a trigger for some. “There is a virus that we don’t know much about, it has skin lesions and some measurements, it is being shared. Also, the virus has been transmitted through sexual networks,” he said. “These things have overtones of the early days of HIV and the experience of HIV for some people, so that’s quite triggering and adds to the stress level around monkeypox.”
Ms Price also suggested that a change to the use of the scientific name for human smallpox could reduce the stigma around the virus.
This is not a gay disease, anyone can get it.
Karen Price, Acting CEO of ACON “Monkeypox is quite an alarming name; It sounds distressing. “The best thing we can do to protect the health of not only the people most at risk right now, but also the people who might be at risk in the future is to start treating this virus like so many other things, like when we started talking about Coronavirus, and moved on to COVID-19. “Maybe there’s a language shift that’s needed from monkey pox to a different kind of language around this MPX or MPX-V.” “This is not a gay disease, anyone can get it.
“Stigma has a profound impact on how people access health care. And it can, for some people, prevent them from reaching out and accessing the health care they need.”