81 out of the 88 countries where monkeypox is reported had never seen the disease before this current outbreak.
22,000 doses of the Bavarian Nordic vaccine have already arrived in Australia with the remainder to be delivered at the end of 2023.
The government announced earlier in the week that Australia has been only one of a select few countries to secure the vaccine, with the injections to be used for those at higher risk of catching monkeypox.
This follows the declaration from Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly who deemed Monkeypox to be a disease of national significance and also follows the declaration from the World Health Organization (WHO) who said it was a global health emergency.
Australia has 53 confirmed cases of Monkeypox as of August 2 with 30 in NSW, 19 in Victoria, two in the ACT, one in QLD and 1 in South Australia.
Western Australia also just confirmed their first case with a man returning home from overseas now isolating in Perth.
Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler pointed out how lucky Australia is to be receiving the vaccines amid low global stocks.
“The Albanese Government has responded early to the monkeypox outbreak, securing supplies of the third-generation vaccine in a time of limited supply and significant global demand.
“This is an important step towards minimising the risk and impact of any further monkeypox outbreaks in Australia.”
Globally there are 26,864 confirmed cases in 88 countries. The US has recorded 7,101 cases and have acquired 300,000 vaccines to give to those most at risk.
Spain has also seen a high number of cases with almost 4,300 people with monkeypox while they recently reported that two people have died from the disease.
According to Spanish officials, 3.2 per cent of those cases were hospitalised and it was reported earlier in the week that a 41-year old man died from monkeypox in Brazil.
Monkeypox has typically so far only affected men who have sex with men with infected people often experiencing symptoms such as fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.
Bumps which looks like blisters often appear on the skin.
