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A vaccination campaign is being prepared for people most at risk of being infected with the monkeypox virus.
Health Minister Ernst Kuipers has adopted the advice of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). Kuipers writes this to the House of Representatives.
‘In consultation with the implementers, a group of approximately 2000 people from the HIV-PrEP target group in Amsterdam will be vaccinated as soon as possible, while preparations are being made for the vaccination of the broader target group in parallel’, the letter states.
Men, transgender people and sex workers fall into high-risk group
The vaccination is intended for high-risk groups. According to the RIVM, this includes men and transgender people who use HIV-PrEP (a pill that can prevent contracting HIV) or who are on the waiting list for this. Men and transgender people who are HIV-positive and who run a high risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and sex workers also belong to the high-risk group. In the Netherlands this concerns about 32,000 people.
two pricks
People who qualify for the vaccination are specifically invited. They receive two doses four weeks apart. ‘It is very important that people with symptoms or possible exposure remain cautious, even after vaccination’, Kuipers writes. ‘After all, it takes several weeks before the vaccine will provide protection, especially in people who need two vaccinations, and the protection of the vaccine will not be complete.’
‘Prevent monkeypox from spreading more widely’
With the vaccination campaign, Kuipers wants to ‘prevent monkeypox from spreading more widely and becoming an endemic disease that we can no longer control’. The total number of confirmed infections in the Netherlands has risen to 402. Fifty new cases have been discovered in recent days.
The minister has instructed RIVM to increase communication about the monkey pox virus to the risk groups.
Bron: radar.avrotros.nl