London 5 August : LGBT+ groups from all political parties have come together to demand that the UK government to intensify efforts to fight monkeypox, or the risk of that it will become “endemic” in the country.The US on Thursday declared an emergency public health emergency due to the virus which in most of the cases that have been reported so far has affected homosexual and bisexual men as well as other men who suffer from sex with men (GBMSM) and coincided with the World Health Organization (WHO) last month declaring it an emergency in the world, according to the news agency dpa.
British health officials have urged to remain calm, but the people in Westminster have urged Health Secretary Steve Barclay to take action in the wake of monkeypox “causing real anxiety and fear” within queer communities.
“We are united as LGBT+ groups from across political parties in asking that the Government treat the monkeypox epidemic as an urgent public health emergency,” a letter to Barclay signed by the LGBT+ groups for the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Scottish National Party declared the.
“We cannot afford to let monkeypox to become a prevailing disease in the UK.Fortunately, we have the tools needed to stop the outbreak and stop any further danger to health right now.We request that you immediately take action.”
The letter, also and signed by sexual health organizations, including the Terrence Higgins Trust, stated that the government should prioritize communications and vaccination.
“We require clear, non-stigmatizing messages directly to GBMSM regarding the signs of monkeypox and what you should do in the event that you think that you have the virus , to inform and assure the public (rather than the present broadcast-to-all method which constantly calls out GBMSM),” the authors, who include two of the Tories’ Luke Black and Labour’s Matthew Lloyd, stated.
“Messaging should reach out to communities that are with a high risk of getting monkeypox through targeted messages via apps, online and in the media that are deemed to be sexually explicit.
“Vaccinating the most vulnerable of monkeypox is an absolute priority if we want to have an opportunity of stopping the disease from becoming an epidemic in the UK,” they added.
“We are extremely concerned that, although mass vaccination events are a fantastic method of creating trust that vaccinations are actually happening but they could also be a cause of inequality, particularly when there is a shortage of jabs” Lloyd said separately.
“It is the right time to upgrade to better systems and increase the purchase of this vital vaccine.”
The Terrence Higgins Trust also demanded improvements to the vaccination process.
The charity’s director of policy, Ceri Smith, said: “We need urgent political action to clamp down on the rapidly increasing amount of monkeypox cases.
“That’s why we’re thankful to the LGBT+ groups from the diverse political parties that have joined together to demand a public health response that is proportional to the size of the issue, while bisexual and gay men continue to comprise the majority of cases.
“We require more coordination, greater vaccination procurement, better delivery, and a cash injection into sexual health services to treat monkeypox.This will also reverse the negative impact the disease already has on STI testing and treatment, PrEP delivery and contraception.”
The NHS announced in the last week that it was increasing its monkeypox vaccination program in London in the event that more stocks of vaccines were made available.
The experts in vaccines have suggested that bisexual and gay men with a higher chance of being exposed to the virus monkeypox should be given the vaccine for smallpox Imvanex.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson stated: “Thousands of monkeypox vaccines have been administered, and the NHS is working to swiftly enroll those most at risk.
“We have gathered more than 150,000 vaccines and are working with partners including the NHS and the UK Health Security Agency – to distribute specific, non-stigmatizing messages with members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“We allow local governments to invest in vital front-line sexual health services by offering greater than 3.4 billion dollars ($4.13 billion) through the Public Health Grant.”
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