Monkeypox Cases Double in a Week in US, Feds Announces New Vaccination Strategy
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Tuesday an "enhanced nationwide vaccination strategy" to mitigate the spread of monkeypox -- as cases continue to rise in U.S.
As of June 28, there were 306 cases in 27 states and the District of Columbia, up from 156 cases a week earlier.
"The reported numbers are likely to be underestimates, said Dr. Jay Varma, Director of the Cornell Center for Pandemic Prevention and Response, reports the New York Times. “It’s pretty clear to me and I think many others that the epidemic is far larger in magnitude than what our official case counts suggest it is."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAccording to HHS, the strategy will "vaccinate and protect those at-risk of monkeypox, prioritize vaccines for areas with the highest numbers of cases, and provide guidance to state, territorial, tribal, and local health officials to aid their planning and response efforts."
Under the strategy, HHS is rapidly expanding access to hundreds of thousands of doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine for prophylactic use against monkeypox in areas with the highest transmission and need, using a tiered allocation system. Jurisdictions can also request shipments of the ACAM2000 vaccine, which is in much greater supply, but due to significant side effects is not recommended for everyone.
“Within days of the first confirmed case of monkeypox in the United States, we quickly began deploying vaccines and treatment to help protect the American public and limit the spread of the virus,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “While monkeypox poses minimal risk to most Americans, we are doing everything we can to offer vaccines to those at high-risk of contracting the virus. This new strategy allows us to maximize the supply of currently available vaccines and reach those who are most vulnerable to the current outbreak.”
About Vaccination Strategy
HHS will provide 296,000 doses of JYNNEOS vaccine. Of that amount, 56,000 doses will be made available immediately, and an additional 240,000 doses will be made available in the coming weeks. HHS expects more than 750,000 additional JYNNEOS doses to be made available over the summer, and an additional 500,000 doses will undergo completion, inspection, and release throughout the fall, totaling 1.6 million doses available this year.
JYNNEOS vaccine will be allocated using a four-tier distribution strategy that prioritizes jurisdictions with the highest case rates of monkeypox. Within each tier, doses of JYNNEOS will be allocated based on the number of individuals at risk for monkeypox who also have a contraindication to ACAM2000 (i.e., those with HIV).
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices currently recommends vaccination for those at high risk following a confirmed monkeypox exposure. Given the large number of contacts and difficulty in identifying all contacts during the current outbreak, vaccine will now be provided to individuals with confirmed and presumed monkeypox exposures.
This include those who had close physical contact with someone diagnosed with monkeypox, those who know their sexual partner was diagnosed with monkeypox, and men who have sex with men who have recently had multiple sex partners in a venue where there was known to be monkeypox or in an area where monkeypox is spreading.
“We are focused on making sure the public and health care providers are aware of the risks posed by monkeypox and that there are steps they can take –through seeking testing, vaccines and treatments – to stay healthy and stop the spread,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky, M.D., M.P.H.
To date, the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), in coordination with the CDC, has responded to requests from 32 jurisdictions, deploying more than 9,000 doses of vaccine and 300 courses of antiviral treatments. HHS will continue to evolve and strengthen its vaccine supply and distribution strategy to ensure the communities most in need have access to vaccinations to combat monkeypox. This includes being in regular communication with states and jurisdiction to monitor case rates and be responsive to requests made by jurisdiction to ensure the vaccine strategy continues to meet needs in real-time.
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