Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1999. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if he intends to begin a vaccination campaign against monkeypox for those most at risk of contracting the virus; if the National Immunisation Advisory Committee is considering doing so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41586/22]
View answerThe immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee. NIAC makes recommendations on vaccination policy to the Department of Health based on the prevalence of the relevant disease in Ireland and international best practices in relation to immunisation.
The HSE is currently administering vaccines in line with NIAC advice of 27 May 2022.
On 22 July 2022, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) made further recommendations on monkeypox immunisation following a request by my Department. In its recommendations which have been endorsed by the interim Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and I have accepted, NIAC recommended the following in addition to its previous recommendations:
- Pre-exposure prophylactic vaccination should be offered to those at high risk of infection e.g., gay, bisexual, men who have sex with men (gbMSM) and others at high risk of unprotected exposure; and
- Two doses of smallpox vaccine should be administered 28 days apart to as many high-risk individuals as soon as practicable.
The HSE will now work to develop a plan to operationalise these new recommendations in relation to monkeypox vaccination.
