0
0
The Robert Koch Institut (RKI), the German National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), recommends all adults in Germany who fall into a risk group have a preventive vaccination against monkeypox.
These are people who are more likely than average to get it, such as people who work in infectious disease labs and men who regularly have sex with different men. People who may have had contact with infected people can also receive a vaccination.
The RKI advises people who have had contact with an infected person to get a vaccination as soon as possible. This must be done within fourteen days of the contact.
The advice being given about gay men is because all the cases in Germany are in that community. As far as is known, they do not have a higher risk of contracting monkeypox than other people.
The RKI says that the vaccine is available to a limited extent because vaccination against smallpox is no longer given as standard. People who are vaccinated get two shots, at least 28 days apart. According to the health organization, it is especially important to comply with the rules. The most important rule is that people immediately go into isolation if they are (possibly) infected.
