THE HSE ARE set to open 11 monkeypox vaccination centres from next Monday, with the health service aiming to finish vaccinating high-priority groups before the end of the year.

Representatives from the HSE are currently before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and have told TDs and Senators that almost 500 people have been vaccinated against monkeypox so far.

Of these, over 160 vaccines were administered post-monkeypox infection while over 300 were administered as a prevention measure.

In her opening statement, Dr Siobhan Ni Bhriain, the National Clinical Director for Integrated Care at the HSE, told TDs and Senators that it is estimated that between 6,000 and 13,000 people would benefit from receiving a monkeypox vaccine.

With the establishment of 11 vaccine centres, people seeking a monkeypox vaccine will be asked to self-identify their risk and book a vaccine appointment.

To date, the HSE has secured over 2,000 vials of monkeypox vaccine, but both the health service and Department of Health are seeking to secure additional doses.

Earlier this year, the European Medicines Agency advised countries that they could administer the vaccine intra-dermally, which reduces the amount of vaccine used in each inoculation.

In total, the HSE has identified 194 cases of monkeypox in Ireland since outbreaks began to be identified earlier this year.

Of these cases, 11 people were hospitalised with the disease.

The cases are primarily found in men, with the average age of infected individuals being 35.

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Donnelly announces monkeypox advisory group headed by CMO

In August, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly announced that a monkeypox advisory group would be established and chaired by the new Chief Medical Officer Dr Breda Smyth.

The role of the new group is to advise the government on how best to respond to the monkeypox outbreak, as well as monitoring the evidence on the disease’s spread.

While the body will be chaired by the new CMO, it includes experts from multiple disciplines including from public health, infectious disease and immunology fields.