With the increase in cases, the United States is expanding access to the monkeypox vaccine vaccine

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U.S. health officials announced a new plan to expand access to monkeypox vaccines amid a continuing increase in cases.

Previously, vaccination was only recommended for people with a known exposure to monkeypox. Under the new strategy, eligibility for the vaccine will be extended to anyone who has been to a place where monkeypox has been reported and to men who have sex with men who have had multiple partners. sex in a place where smallpox is known to have occurred or in an area where monkeypox is spreading.

The White House announced plans to expand monkeypox vaccination in the U.S. Source: Adobe Stock

“It’s almost as if we’re expanding the definition of who could be a contact,” Jennifer McQuiston, DVM, MS, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Pathogens and High Consequences Pathology, told reporters at a news conference.

“We are considering contacts [as] people who might have had the kind of exposure recently that would put them at high risk for monkeypox, “McQuiston said.”[If] they took part in a party or place where the monkey’s smallpox is known to have spread, but we can’t trace them, we recommend that they come for a vaccine. “

CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, said people should be vaccinated within 2 weeks of exposure, “as soon as possible,” to reduce the risk of infection and disease.

Rochelle Walensky

HHS will provide 296,000 doses of Jynneos, an FDA-approved vaccine for monkeypox, over the next few weeks, including 56,000 doses that are available immediately. More than 750,000 doses are expected to be made available during the summer, with 500,000 more to be released during the fall.

The jurisdiction may also request an older vaccine, ACAM2000, which has a much larger supply but is also associated with more serious side effects.

Doses of the Jynneos vaccine will be prioritized for areas with the highest number of cases and for people who cannot take ACAM2000 because they are immunocompromised, including people with HIV.

Jynneos is approved for adults 18 years of age and older and is given in two doses 28 days apart. Maximum protection is not achieved until about 2 weeks after the second dose, or 6 weeks after starting the series, Walensky noted.

More than 4,700 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 49 countries, including 306 in 28 U.S. jurisdictions, Walensky said. He said the country’s vaccination strategy will be updated once more doses are available.

“With the number of cases and the number of jurisdictions with increasing cases, the need for medical countermeasures, including vaccines, continues to increase,” Walensky said.

According to Walensky, the CDC also began sending orthopoxvirus tests to five commercial lab companies last week and began training labs to improve their familiarity with the tests. He said public health labs can process more than 10,000 tests a week.

Also Tuesday, the CDC announced that it has activated its Emergency Operations Center to respond to the outbreak.

References:

Fact sheet: response to the smallpox outbreak of the Biden-Harris administration. Published June 28, 2022. Accessed June 28, 2022.

HHS announces an improved strategy to vaccinate and protect people at risk from the current monkeypox outbreak. Published June 28, 2022. Accessed June 28, 2022.