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The United States will soon greatly expand its vaccination program against monkeypox. On Tuesday night, the Biden administration announced that it plans to release a stockpile of over a million doses of the vaccine to the public by the end of the fall. The vaccines will be given primarily to close contacts of confirmed cases and others at higher risk of exposure, such as B. gay and bisexual men who have recently had multiple sexual partners in areas where the emerging disease has been detected.
The updated strategy announced the US Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday is calling for a phased roll-out of the country’s supply of the JYNNEOS vaccine. Almost 300,000 doses will be distributed across the country in the coming weeks, including 56,000 doses immediately. A further 750,000 cans will be made available over the summer. And up to 500,000 cans should be released later in the year, provided they pass the inspection process. In all, around 1.6 million doses of the two-dose vaccine are expected to be available through stock this year.
The vaccines became available so quickly because the mOnkeypox virus is closely related to the now extinct smallpox virus, the was eradicated in 1980 by a massive global vaccination campaign. However, countries have kept stocks of smallpox vaccines to this day, partly because there is always a slim possibility that the virus could be resuscitated as a bioweapons agent. And these vaccines are also said to be effective against closely related viruses like monkeypox. In fact, smallpox vaccines do not contain the virus itself, but another related virus called vaccinia.
The US also has a much larger stockpile of the ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine, and HHS has announced it will be releasing doses to JurisdiActions that request it. But the ACAM2000 vaccine has more significant side effects than JYNNEOS, making it less suitable for mass distribution, the agency said. In 2019 JYNNEOS became the first vaccine in the US approved for both smallpox and monkeypox. It is estimated to be 85% effective against monkeypox, but this estimate is based on limited real-world data. The vaccine can also be given to people shortly after a suspected exposure, which should reduce the risk of disease.
The US is following in the footsteps of by announcing the expanded launch of their stockpiles other countries like UK. Like these countries, the US will prioritize dose allocation based on people’s risk of exposure. At the top are people known to be in close, prolonged contact with confirmed or suspected cases, followed by people whose sexual partners have been diagnosed with monkeypox, and finally “men who have sex with men who have recently had multiple Had sexual partners in a place where monkeypox is known to exist or in an area where monkeypox is spreading.” Within these levels, considerations such as a person’s current health status are also taken into account.
“Our goal at this time is to ensure that the limited supply of JYNNEOS vaccine is made available to those who can most immediately benefit from it, while we continue to secure additional doses of vaccine,” said Dawn O’Connell, HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and Reaction. in one Expression.
It is believed that monkeypox primarily infects rodents. Until recently, it had spread from animals to humans only occasionally, following its discovery in the 1950s. But there were more than 4,000 confirmed or suspected Human cases have been reported worldwide this year, including over 300 in the US, which is a case count well above the sporadic outbreaks that have previously occurred in some parts of Africa. Although it has been circulating in humans at low levels for a number of years, its current spread appears to be fueled by close contact during sex. So far have eruptions primarily involved Men who sleep with men, but the virus can spread to anyone through close contact with infected rashes and possibly respiratory particles.
Last weekend, the World Health Organization declined for now, to declare a public health emergency of international concern over monkeypox, although they continued to stress that greater international cooperation and action is needed to contain the virus before it can become permanently endemic in more parts of the world.
