Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help prevent the spread of monkeypox in the UK.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published guidance to raise awareness of the outbreak, advise the public on symptoms and how to access the appropriate treatment options. The UKHSA has procured over 20,000 doses of the smallpox vaccine Imvanex, which is offered to identified close contacts of those diagnosed with monkeypox to reduce the risk of symptomatic infection and severe illness. On 21 June 2022, the UKHSA published a vaccine strategy which recommends that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men at higher risk of exposure to monkeypox should be offered the vaccine. Vaccines are also being offered to at risk healthcare workers.