Monkeypox vaccine pop-ups overwhelmed as at-risk gay men rush to get jab – iNews
Monkeypox vaccine pop-ups in London have been overwhelmed as at-risk gay men rush to get the jab.
Some people queued for more than four hours at a pop-up at Guy’s Hospital to get vaccinated against monkeypox on Sunday, while many others left disappointed after arriving too late to get the jab.
One man told i how he travelled down from Manchester at the last minute when he heard about the pop-up.
“It was quite a long queue, but definitely worth it,” said David Wilde, 30, who said he waited more than four hours. “It’s really nice to see the amount of people who have come out to get the jab as well.
He said two of his friends who contracted the virus were hospitalised. “I thought it was really important to come down today and to wait in line no matter how long it took to get the vaccine,” he said.
Yesterday, the World Health Organisation declared monkeypox a global health emergency as cases rise around the world – with 2,208 confirmed in the UK.
The Government has announced it will be accelerating the rollout of a smallpox vaccine that is effective against monkeypox.
Gay, bisexual and queer men, who currently make up 98 per cent of cases in the UK, are being prioritised for the jab – which is encouraged for men who have multiple sexual partners, participate in group sex or attend venues such as gay saunas.
In London, where cases are highest, there are more than 18 clinics offering vaccinations, including Dean Street sexual health clinic in Soho, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, Guy’s Hospital in Southwark, Mortimer Market Centre in Camden and Barking Hospital Outpatient Centre East.
Mr Wilde said he had struggled to get the vaccine in his home city. “Although Manchester doesn’t have quite the same numbers of monkeypox cases, we’ve not got the same amount of vaccine supply,” he said.
Calling for a “co-ordinated approach” across the country from the UK Health Security Agency, he added: The UKHSA has recommended that sexual health clinics provide the vaccine. However, the sexual health clinics have not been given any additional funding.
“Each sexual health clinic is organising and prioritising their patients in their own way so there’s no joined-up approach, which is why then you’ve got that disparity between access in London, Manchester, Birmingham.
“I fully understand that not everyone would have the ability – like I’ve done today – to be able to travel down at short notice to get the vaccine and it then becomes health inequality.”
Mr Wilde voiced concern that monkeypox could “spiral out of control” if the public health strategy is not improved.
He said: “I wholly believe this is something that it’s possible to eradicate, but with the current inaction and the lack of a centralised approach with each sexual tealth trust coming up with our own roll-out plan, I think it’d be very easy for this to spiral out of control.
“It’s very easy for people to spread it, so we really need to get co-ordinated action and jabs in arms now, not just in London, all over the country as well.”
Monkeypox – key facts
- In the UK, 2,208 Monkeypox cases have been identified, 98 per cent are among gay, bisexual and queer men (men who have sex with men), with a high proportion in London.
- Monkeypox is transmitted through close contact. It is not sexually transmitted, but most cases are thought to have been transmitted during sex.
- The virus can be severe and painful. One in 10 cases currently requires hospital care.
- A safe and tested smallpox vaccine effective against the virus is already available.
- Men who have multiple sexual partners, participate in group sex, or attend “sex on premises” venues, are particularly encouraged to get the vaccine.
- The UK has ordered 130,000 doses of the vaccine. Unlike the Covid jab, the roll-out is being run through sexual health services.
- Official guidance says that “your local NHS services will contact you and offer you a vaccine” – but those not known to be in an eligible group may not be contacted unless they get in touch or find a pop-up clinic.
Another man, Chris, arrived at about 4.30pm, only to be told Guy’s Hospital, in Southwark, had reached the maximum capacity for vaccines that day, with a minimum wait of three hours.
He said he was “a little bit disappointed”, particularly as he is busy with work in the coming weeks so it may be tricky for him to book another appointment.
Another man spent seven hours last week trying to get the jab by calling numerous sexual health clinics and being forced to wait on hold for hours.
“The recurring theme is that response has been really unco-ordinated and there’s been a lot of confusion trying to get the correct information,” Carl told i.
After arriving too late to get the jab at 5pm today, he said he is “glad” to have a jab appointment booked at a different clinic in the next week.
He added: “I think that there’s a risk of relating this disease to promiscuity and stereotyping the gay community at large.
“Although it is mostly prevalent in men who have sex with men at the moment, that can very easily change because it is a body-contact disease, it’s not an STD.
“The government treating it as an STD has put so much pressure on our already overwhelmed and systemically underfunded sexual health services. This is the wrong move because most of these clinics are independent so they don’t have a co-ordinated response.
“It’s going to be a struggle to break the chains of transmission if there isn’t a nationalised response. There should be vaccines available in every hospital to make it as convenient as possible for men who have sex with men to get the vaccine as quickly as possible so we can prevent this from spilling over into other populations.”
Steve Russell, NHS director of vaccinations, said in a statement on Tuesday that thousands more people would be invited to have the jab very shortly, with the number of clinics expanded.
“As we have done with the most successful Covid vaccination programme in history, the NHS will leave no stone unturned in ensuring everyone who is eligible can get protected,” he added.
“We will be inviting anyone who we believe is a priority for vaccination, and local teams will be working to make sure that anyone who meets the criteria set by UKHSA knows how they can get their jab.
“We are asking people to wait to be contacted and to come forward at the earliest opportunity possible when invited to get vaccinated.”
He said the risk of monkeypox remained very low and nearly every UK case so far had resulted in a quick recovery.
“On the whole, the cases we are seeing are among gay and bisexual men or men who have sex with men, with a significant number coming from London, and so it is vital that those who are most likely to get the virus get vaccinated as quickly as possible,” he added.
“The NHS is now scaling up its plans to get people vaccinated, particularly in London, thanks to the efforts of staff who are working hard to help stop onward spread, in line with UKHSA advice.”