What The Pox? | Investigating the monkeypox outbreak

Could the UK run out of monkeypox vaccines?

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Episode notes

Health secretary Thérèse Coffey has rejected advice from officials to procure additional doses of the monkeypox vaccine.

That's the topline from Donato Mancini's scoop for the FT this weekend. But what does it mean?



It's raised great concern that it will leave the UK ill-prepared for a resurgence of the disease. This news comes as the outbreak could be curtailed, if progress continues, with new cases down to 100 a week. It also flies in the face of advice from the UK Health Security Agency and sexual health experts.


Join us, in this rapid response special episode, to work out why the UK government has rejected this advice as we ask Donato and some of the show's recent contributors what the pox is going on?


This week's guests are:


Donato Mancini - Pharma Correspondent, Financial Times

Susan Cole - Community Engagement, NAM AIDSmap

Matthew Hodson - Executive Director of NAM AIDSmap

Will Nutland - Co-founder of Love Tank CIC, Prepster


Listen to understand:

Why this outbreak feels familiar to HIV in the 80s

What we can learn from the response (and lack of) to HIV - for monkeypox

How we can talk about monkeypox without stigmatising sexually active LGBTQIA+ people


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