More monkeypox jabs ordered as cases pass 2,000

AN EXTRA 100,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine have been purchased by health officials as cases of the virus rise above 2,000.

Official figures reveal the total tally of monkeypox cases to be 2,137, with almost three quarters in London.

Just 14 infections are in women, and the majority are in homosexual men.

Health experts warn that the virus is spreading predominantly through sexual contact between men who have sex with other men, and most patients are in their 30s or early 40s.

About 10 per cent of cases need hospital treatment, and so far there have been no deaths in the UK.

The UK Health Security Agency has reacted to the continuing outbreak by purchasing 100,000 more doses of the vaccine, called Imvanex, which is made by Bavarian Nordic.

The contract adds to the pre-existing stockpile of 30,000 doses the UK already has and the new batch is expected to arrive this month.

Two doses four weeks apart are needed for full protection and the jabs are also given to known cases to help reduce their symptoms.