1. When does the preventive vaccination start?
Minister Ernst Kuipers of Public Health let you know last week to start ‘as soon as possible’ with the preventive vaccination of a group of approximately 2000 people. They receive a vaccine against smallpox that also reduces the chance of infection with monkeypox.
It concerns men from Amsterdam who have sex with men and are taking part in a trial with PrEP, a prevention tool against HIV. These men may be at a higher risk of monkey pox infection due to varying sexual contacts. According to Kuipers, a broader group of about 32,000 people will be vaccinated later.
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At the moment no one has been vaccinated preventively in the Netherlands. A spokesperson for the GGD informs RTL Nieuws that the guidelines of the RIVM are not yet clear and therefore no injection has yet been made. Practical matters must first be decided, such as whether vaccinated persons have to wait 15 minutes in the waiting room and where the vaccine is to be given in the arm. Without those instructions, staff cannot start vaccinating yet.
According to the GGD spokesperson, ‘preparations are being worked on’, but it is currently unclear when vaccination will start.
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2. How many vaccines are available in the Netherlands?
The RIVM reports that the number of available vaccines is ‘limited’, according to Kuipers’ letter, there are currently about 70,000 vaccines available. Because two shots are needed, this means that about 35,000 people can be vaccinated with it.
According to a spokesperson for Soa Aids Nederland, that is far too little and more vaccines must become available quickly. “Men who are currently not receiving PrEP or are not on the waiting list have no prospect of a vaccine at this time,” the spokesperson explains. “It is fine that the minister has decided to vaccinate a risk group, but it must be tackled much more broadly and it must also go much faster.”
A spokesperson for Minister Kuipers informed RTL Nieuws that it is currently not being looked into whether more vaccines should be purchased. “We follow the advice of the RIVM, which focuses on vaccinating this target group. More vaccines are not necessary for the time being,” the spokesperson reports.
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3. How is the monkeypox virus in the countries around us?
Germany currently has 1490 confirmed cases with the monkeypox virus, in Belgium there are more than 160. In France more than 700 cases have been confirmed. The European frontrunner is currently Spain, with more than 2000 confirmed infections. Great Britain has more than 1,550 infections, mainly in London. UK health authorities expect the number of monkey pox patients to increase doubles every fifteen days.
British experts warn in The Guardian that the fight against monkey pox in Britain is ‘inadequate’. If you contact your GP because of symptoms, you will not receive sufficient help. Only when someone is identified as a close contact through source and contact research is there the possibility to do a test and be vaccinated preventively. Source and contact research is often difficult because it is not always clear who has had (sexual) contact.
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Belgian researchers also discovered last week that asymptomatic contamination is also possible, which means that the spread can remain ‘under the radar’. The swabs of previously taken STI tests in Antwerp were re-examined. Four men turned out to be infected with the virus – without even knowing it. The research has not yet been tested by fellow scientists.
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Monkeypox: often harmless, but very annoying
Anyone can get monkey pox, but at the moment the virus is mainly circulating in Europe among men who have sex with men. The virus spreads through skin-to-skin contact.
The virus does not seem dangerous to most people, but can be deadly for people with very weak immune systems. That almost never happens in Europe.
However, the virus is very annoying for some patients because of the characteristic blisters. Some people only get mild symptomsOthers suffer from very painful blisters around the anus, for example, which makes going to the toilet very painful. Monkeypox will go away on its own after a few weeks. You are no longer contagious to others once all the scabs have fallen off the blisters.
(Bron: RIVM & GGD Amsterdam & STD Aids Netherlands)
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4. Can you get an injection abroad if you don’t get it in the Netherlands?
Anyone who becomes impatient and does not yet receive a shot in the Netherlands for the time being, may be able to seek refuge abroad. France announced last week that all risk groups can be vaccinated. It does not only concern gay men with varying contacts, but also transgender people and prostitutes.
A spokesperson for the French Ministry of Health confirms to RTL Nieuws that vaccination started yesterday and that Dutch people living in France are also eligible for this. With a white lie, the Dutch could therefore be pricked at a French clinic.
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The same applies in Germany, where risk groups are also vaccinated. Germany is said to have purchased 240,000 vaccines, of which several tens of thousands have already been delivered. The federal states make their own rules, but in principle Dutch people who belong to the risk group can also go to Germany for a shot. Here too, they must be able to demonstrate that they are at risk of monkey pox.
In England, Dutch people who visit the country can be treated for monkey pox for free, a spokesperson for the health authority reported to RTL Nieuws. Although the source and contact investigation and the subsequent vaccination are therefore messy, according to The Guardian, as a Dutch person in England you can in principle get a shot.
When asked what Soa Aids Nederland thinks of this vaccine tourism, a spokesperson says that the organization has no opinion about this. At the same time, according to the spokesperson, the following also applies: “If people can get vaccinated quickly, it will prevent the virus from spreading further”.
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