Pause in UK rollout of monkeypox vaccine

With stocks of the monkeypox vaccine expected to run out in parts of the country, the UK’s jab rollout is likely to be paused for several weeks.
An inside memo has shown that some doses will be held back by the UK Health Security Agency to give to people already exposed to the virus in the hope of reducing severe symptoms.
Stock is said to have already run out with new appointments ceasing in many clinics, including London’s busiest. The UKHSA state that they are trying to “expedite delivery” of a further one hundred thousand doses.
It has been predicted in a recent update on the outbreak that all of the UK’s current supplies of vaccines will have been distributed to providers by mid-August, meaning that there could be a number of weeks without supplies across the country.
So far, there have been just over three thousand cases across the UK in total, with officials noticing that the outbreak is beginning to slow.
Recent data has shown that twenty-nine cases a day are confirmed on average, compared to fifty-two cases every day towards the end of June. More than twenty-five thousand people have received a dose of the vaccine.
Despite some positive signs, there are still significant concerns about the deficiency of available vaccines. A public health worker working on the rollout has called the situation a “nightmare”, and “disorganisation is going to mean more and more people get infected”.
The public health worker is predicting a massive increase in cases as a result of clinics having to turn people eligible for a vaccine away. “We are turning away men here in Yorkshire for a vaccine. It’s unconscionable. More people are going to be getting monkeypox, and it will be transmitted in our communities.”
The UKHSA has said they are trying to speed up delivery, with 100,000 additional doses due to arrive in the UK towards the end of September. It has been said that those already with an appointment will still receive their vaccine; however, new appointments are unable to be made as stock runs low.