Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the 100,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine arriving in September 2022 will be used to provide (a) first doses for those not yet vaccinated and (b) second doses for those who have already received a first dose.

On 23 September 2022, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced that second doses of monkeypox vaccine will begin to be offered although clinics will prioritise continuing to deliver first doses to people at highest risk from monkeypox. To maximise the reach of the remaining stock, including the 100,000 doses due to arrive before the end of September, of which 20,000 are already in the United Kingdom, the UKHSA has endorsed ‘fractional dosing’ where those aged 18 years old and over can be offered a 0.1 mililitre dose of the Jynneos vaccine, instead of a 0.5 millilitre dose typically administered. This will potentially enable up to a five-fold increase in the number of people offered vaccination with the same level of vaccine efficacy.