Brent Liberal Democrats have called on the council to pressure central government to speed up vaccine roll-out to protect against monkeypox.

In a letter, published on August 10, the group called for the smallpox vaccine to be made more widely accessible.

The letter is addressed to cabinet member for Public Health and Adult Social Care Neil Nerva and director of Brent Public Health Melanie Smith and signed by leader of Brent Liberal Democrats Anton Georgiou, Cllr Paul Lorber, Cllr Hannah Martin and Edan Powell.

Cllr Georgiou said: “Rising monkeypox cases in our borough and across London should concern us all. That is why the Brent Liberal Democrats are urging the council to put pressure on the government to act.

“There is an opportunity to contain the spread of this virus, but we desperately need better public awareness and for vaccines to be made more accessible to the most at-risk groups.”

The letter reads in part: “The government’s seeming inaction shows a lack of care towards the most at-risk communities, and the Department for Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) disregard towards the NHS Constitution principles of bridging the health inequality gap.”

According to data by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) published on August 16, Brent has 67 confirmed cases.

The DHSC stated that of August 10 around 27,000 people were vaccinated by the NHS and a further 150,000 doses have been ordered.

Jenny Harries, chief executive of UKHSA, said this week there are early signs the spread has plateaued.

She said: "The most important way to protect those who are more likely to get monkeypox and to limit the outbreak is to ensure that all the vaccines available to us are in people's arm’s as quickly as possible and are building protection across the community."

Claire Dewsnap, president of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH), said: “It’s fantastic that thousands of vaccines have been delivered, we thank individuals in at-risk communities for stepping up to be vaccinated and services making huge efforts to get vaccine out.

“BASHH is concerned about the time it will take to receive more vaccines and will continue to work hard with national agencies to make sure the next round of delivery is as smooth as possible.”