Category: Monkey Pox Vaccine

Wisconsins public health providers are working to distribute vaccines to guard against monkeypox, the viral illness that has become the subject of a national public health emergency. The initial focus is on people thought to be most at risk for the illness.

The vaccine, which the federal government has been distributing as clusters of the illness have broken out in the U.S. and worldwide, is being sent to designated hubs in Eau Claire, Green Bay, Madison and Milwaukee. From there it will be distributed to local clinics, health departments and other providers, said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer for the state bureau of communicable diseases in the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS).

Westergaard spoke with reporters in a briefing Wednesday.

Because of limited stores of the vaccine, the first priority for the initial doses that the state is receiving will be people at the highest risk, Westergaard said. Currently Wisconsin has been allocated just under 6,000 doses from the federal government, with more expected to become available starting Aug. 15, he said.

DHS has also adopted a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued Tuesday that the vaccine can be administered in the skin rather than under the skin. A dose of 0.1 milliliter appears to provide immune protection that is about as effective as the standard dose given under the skin, which is 0.5 milliliters, Westergaard said. That makes it possible to adequately vaccinate five times as many people with the current supplies as would be expected.

We have more people who can benefit from vaccines than we have doses for, Westergaard said. So the ability to stretch our vaccine that much farther is a great opportunity.

Monkeypox is a form of the orthopox virus that also includes smallpox. The illness has in a matter of a few months begun turning up in every country, including the U.S., where it has been found across the nation. Wisconsin has recorded 32 cases so far, he said.

Monkeypox is not classified as a sexually transmitted infection, but the current outbreaks have largely centered on networks of gay and bisexual men as well as some transgender and nonbinary people, he said, where it is apparently spreading in part through sexual contact. Those populations have been particularly affected by the recent outbreak, and for that reason, they are among the highest priority for the vaccine.

That doesnt mean they are unusually susceptible, Westergaard said just that their social networks have afforded the virus the opportunity to spread. And DHS has been meeting and conferring with colleges and university student health clinics and administrators about risk factors and planning to avoid outbreaks.

Shots are also being prioritized for people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other conditions that have weakened their immune system, he said.

Current CDC guidance calls for giving vaccine priority to recently exposed or infected people along with at-risk people not infected. Researchers have found administering the vaccine even to someone already exposed or infected can ward off a more severe infection.

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Wisconsin works to distribute monkeypox vaccine to areas where risk is highest, health department says - Wisconsin Examiner

LATEST UPDATES. ALL RIGHT TONIGHT. IT IS A STORY. YOULL ONLY SEE ON WDSU AND INSIDE PERSPECTIVE ON HOW MONKEYPOX IS AFFECTING ONE LOCAL MAN. HE SHARED HIS STORY WITH WDSUS ELI BRAND ELI DESCRIBED THE PAIN THAT THIS MAN SAYS HE HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH AS HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS. KEEP AN EYE ON HOW THE DISEASE IS SPREADING WELL, SO HE SAYS THAT PAIN IS UNBEARABLE NOW HERE IN THE STATE THE LOUISIANA HEALTH DEPARTMENT SAYS THERE ARE 38 CASES OF MONKEYPOX RIGHT NOW MOST OF THOSE HERE IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA THAT MAN I SPOKE TO SAYS WHAT HES GOING THROUGH IS UNIMAGINABLE. THE PAIN THAT YOU RECEIVE FROM THAT ITS JUST ITS KIND OF INDESCRIBABLE. YEAH, SO I COULD MAYBE SLEEP. ONE TO TWO HOURS BEFORE GETTING WAKING UP IN THE PAIN BREAKS YOU UP THIS PATIENT. WE SPOKE TO DID NOT WANT TO GO ON CAMERA, BUT HE SAYS HIS MONKEYPOX FIGHT STARTED TWO WEEKS AGO WHEN HE FOUND A RASH. HE SAYS WHAT HES EXPERIENCED EVER SINCE THE DIAGNOSIS HAS BEEN UNBEARABLE JUST THE MENTAL HELL THAT YOU GO THROUGH IN YOUR HEAD TOO, YOU KNOW AGAIN NOT KNOWING AND WHEN IS IT GONNA END AND HOW AM I GONNA GET HELP THIS PAIN IS JUST ITS NOT STOPPING. YOU KNOW, I CANT REALLY EAT. I CANT RELAX. I CANT SLEEP. I CANT SIT. I CANT LAY DOWN. JUST IMAGINE ALL THOSE THINGS JUST HAPPENING ALL AT ONCE. IT WAS A LOT TO COME TO TERMS WITH HE SAYS LEGIONS FEEL LIKE GLASS STABBING HIS SKIN SOMETHING. HE SAYS HE WOULDNT WISH ON ANYONE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS SAY THE DISEASE IS NOT AIRBORNE LIKE COVID-19. YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO TYPE SOMEBODY WHEN YOU GET THIS IM YOU ACTUALLY GET THESE LITTLE VESICLES ON YOU WHICH ARE THE FANS WHERE IF THAT LOOKS LIKE LITTLE BUMPS WITH FLUID-FILLED BUMPS. THEY START OUT AS FLUID PHIL BUMPS. SOMETIMES GET CLOUDY THE BUMPS POP AND THEN EVENTUALLY SCAB OVER ITS NOT UNTIL THEYRE COMPLETELY YIELD THAT YOURE NO LONGER CONTAGIOUS THAT PATIENT HOPES TO BE BACK TO NORMAL ON TUESDAY, BUT IS ENCOURAGING EVERYONE ELIGIBLE TO GET VACCINATED AND STAY SAFE. ITS GOOD TO SEE THAT PEOPLE ARE TAKING IT SERIOUSLY, YOU KNOW BECAUSE ITS REALLY NOTHING TO MESS WITH. ITS A REALLY SCARY. ITS A SCARY TIME. NOW THE PEOPLE HERE IN LOUISIANA THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THAT MONKEY BOX VACCINE OR ANYONE THAT COMES IN CONTACT WITH SOMEONE THAT IS ALREADY INFECTED WITH THE VIRUS REPOR

Monkeypox in Louisiana: What you need to know about numbers, vaccines, and more

Updated: 1:50 PM CDT Aug 15, 2022

The fear of monkeypox has been spreading throughout the state. Many have concerns about the virus but are unsure what it is and how to help prevent the spread. Monkeypox is a viral illness that typically involves flu-like symptoms, swelling of the lymph nodes, and a painful rash that includes fluid inside them before scabbing over. The Louisiana Department of Health offers insight on what monkeypox is and how to prevent it. Current monkeypox statistics in Louisiana: 108 total cases in Louisiana 5 new Louisiana infections84 cases in the New Orleans Metro area No confirmed deathsIs there a vaccine?Yes, JYNNEOS is the name of the FDA-approved monkeypox vaccine. It is two doses, administered 28 days apart. Full protection begins two weeks after the second shot.The monkeypox vaccine is available to those who are eligible at no cost.Who is eligible to receive the vaccine?There is a limited amount of monkeypox vaccines in Louisiana. Therefore, there are two groups currently eligible for the vaccine:Individuals with known exposuresIndividuals with likely high-risk exposures in the last 14 days.As of right now, individuals that are considered high-risk are:Individuals that are gay, bisexual, other (cis or trans) men who have sexual contact with men or transgender women and nonbinary persons assigned male at birth who have sexual contact with men and:Have had intimate or sexual contact with multiple or anonymous partners in the last 14 daysHave had intimate or sexual contact with other men in a social or sexual venue in the last 14 daysOR Individuals (of any sex/gender identity) who have given or received money or other goods/services in exchange for sex in the last 14 daysAnyone can contract monkeypox, and the current eligibility criteria are only limited to the above groups because they are most at risk based on the first diagnoses we have seen. However, the criteria will be expanded as additional vaccine becomes available and/or individuals from other groups are diagnosed.Click here for a list of locations in Louisiana where you can receive the monkeypox vaccine.How is monkeypox spread? Monkeypox is most commonly spread from one person to another, through direct contact with a rash or sores of someone with the virus.Monkeypox often gets confused as a sexually transmitted disease. Even though you can get monkeypox sexually, it is not an STD. Anyone can get monkeypox through direct contact with someone infected. You can also get monkeypox by wearing clothes, sharing bed sheets or sharing other items with someone infected. However, you can not spread monkeypox if you do not have any symptoms. What are the symptoms? Symptoms of monkeypox can include:FeverHeadacheMuscle aches and backacheSwollen lymph nodesChillsExhaustionA rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appear on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus How to prevent the spread of monkeypox:Avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with people with a rash that looks like monkeypox.Do not touch the rash or scabs of a person with monkeypox.Do not kiss, hug, cuddle or have sexual contact with someone with monkeypox.Do not share eating utensils or cups with a person with monkeypox.Do not handle or touch the bedding, towels, or clothing of a person with monkeypox.Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.If you do not feel well or have an unusual rash or sores, take a break from going to bars, gyms, clubs, and other events.What to do if you have symptoms: Be sure to wear a mask and cover any lesions if you have a rash, and contact your health care provider immediately. Avoid sexual or close intimate contact with anyone until you have been checked. If you have symptoms and would like to be tested for monkeypox, contact your health care provider. Anyone without a provider or insurance can also be tested at their local parish health clinic. Click here to find a clinic in a parish near you. Self-isolate until you hear back on your test results or if you test positive. To learn more about monkeypox, go to Monkeypox | La Dept. of Health.

The fear of monkeypox has been spreading throughout the state. Many have concerns about the virus but are unsure what it is and how to help prevent the spread.

Monkeypox is a viral illness that typically involves flu-like symptoms, swelling of the lymph nodes, and a painful rash that includes fluid inside them before scabbing over.

The Louisiana Department of Health offers insight on what monkeypox is and how to prevent it.

Yes, JYNNEOS is the name of the FDA-approved monkeypox vaccine. It is two doses, administered 28 days apart. Full protection begins two weeks after the second shot.

The monkeypox vaccine is available to those who are eligible at no cost.

There is a limited amount of monkeypox vaccines in Louisiana. Therefore, there are two groups currently eligible for the vaccine:

As of right now, individuals that are considered high-risk are:

Individuals that are gay, bisexual, other (cis or trans) men who have sexual contact with men or transgender women and nonbinary persons assigned male at birth who have sexual contact with men and:

OR Individuals (of any sex/gender identity) who have given or received money or other goods/services in exchange for sex in the last 14 days

Anyone can contract monkeypox, and the current eligibility criteria are only limited to the above groups because they are most at risk based on the first diagnoses we have seen. However, the criteria will be expanded as additional vaccine becomes available and/or individuals from other groups are diagnosed.

Click here for a list of locations in Louisiana where you can receive the monkeypox vaccine.

Monkeypox is most commonly spread from one person to another, through direct contact with a rash or sores of someone with the virus.

Monkeypox often gets confused as a sexually transmitted disease. Even though you can get monkeypox sexually, it is not an STD.

Anyone can get monkeypox through direct contact with someone infected. You can also get monkeypox by wearing clothes, sharing bed sheets or sharing other items with someone infected.

However, you can not spread monkeypox if you do not have any symptoms.

Symptoms of monkeypox can include:

Be sure to wear a mask and cover any lesions if you have a rash, and contact your health care provider immediately.

Avoid sexual or close intimate contact with anyone until you have been checked.

If you have symptoms and would like to be tested for monkeypox, contact your health care provider. Anyone without a provider or insurance can also be tested at their local parish health clinic. Click here to find a clinic in a parish near you.

Self-isolate until you hear back on your test results or if you test positive.

To learn more about monkeypox, go to Monkeypox | La Dept. of Health.

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Monkeypox in Louisiana: What you need to know about numbers, vaccines, and more - WDSU New Orleans

White House declares monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency

As monkeypox cases rise across the states, the Biden administration says they are taking additional steps to stop the spread of the virus.

Ariana Triggs, USA TODAY

Corrections and clarifications: A previous version of this story mischaracterized the number of monkeypox vaccine doses Indiana has been allocated.

As the number of monkeypox cases grows, so does the public health threat.

Monkeypox is a viral disease in the same family as smallpox, though monkeypox is generally milder than smallpox and rarely fatal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

President Joe Biden's administration declared monkeypox a national public health emergency last Thursday.

"I remain committed to our monkeypox response: ramping-up vaccine distribution, expanding testing, and educating at-risk communities," the president said in a tweet. "That's why today's public health emergency declaration on the virus is critical to confronting this outbreak with the urgency it warrants."

Addressing myths about monkeypox:A look at symptoms, treatment and other common questions

As of Monday, there were 77 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Indiana and nearly 9,000 in the United States, according to the CDC.

Like many other states, Indiana has seen an increase in monkeypox cases over the past month,State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said in a July 29 news release. Monkeypox does not easily spread through brief casual contact, but its important to remember that anyone can be affected if they are a close contact of a positive case. Hoosiers who believe they may have been exposed or who develop symptoms consistent with monkeypox are urged to contact a healthcare provider.

Here's what to know about the virus and the vaccine.

Symptoms of monkeypox usually begin within three weeks after exposure, according to the CDC.

Symptoms can include fever, headache, chills, muscle and back aches, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion and respiratory symptoms. Most people with monkeypox will also develop a rash, which can resemble blisters or pimples, that can spread to various parts of the body. The illness generally lasts between two and four weeks, and the person is no longer contagious once a fresh layer of skin develops over the scabs.

Direct skin-to-skin contact with the monkeypox rash, sores or scabs of a currently infected person is believed to be the most common way the virus is spreading, according to an information sheet from the CDC.

However, contact with surfaces or objects that have come into contact with the monkeypox scabs, in addition to contact with respiratory secretions through kissing or other close contact, is also a method of transmission. Pregnant people can spread the disease to their fetus.

Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease. It is transmitted via skin-to-skin contact, which can occur during sex, but is not specific to sexual activity.

The JYNNEOS vaccine, also known as Imvamune or Imvanex, protects against smallpox and monkeypox infection in adults 18 and older. It's a two-dose vaccine, with the second shot administered at least four weeks after the first.

Past data from Africa suggests that the smallpox vaccine is at least 85% effective at preventing people from being infected with monkeypox, according to the CDC.

Vaccination before exposure is aimed at preventing infection, but experts believe that vaccination soon after exposure may help prevent the disease or at least severe illness.

Experts recommend vaccination as soon as possible after being exposed, and CDC recommends vaccination within four days after exposure to prevent disease. Vaccines given between four and 14 days after exposure could prevent severe illness, but not necessarily infection.

It's a misconception that monkeypox will only affect people living with HIV or men who have sex with men, Alan Witchey, CEO and president of the Damien Center, said, although there is a higher rate of infection among these groups, in part because those living with HIV are immunocompromised and are more susceptible to infection.

People living with HIV who regularly take antiretroviraldrugs can become virally suppressed, meaning that the viral load is low enough that it prevents illness and cannot be transmitted to other people.

More:Monkeypox is not a gay disease. But LGBTQ leaders say they need more help for gay men and everyone else

Overall, 65% of people living with HIV are virally suppressed, Witchey said. However, that leaves many others who have not reached viral suppression. So those people, because of their compromised immune systems, are more susceptible to contracting monkeypox.

"There are definitely people who are not gay men or don't identify as gay or bi men that are getting infected with monkeypox," Witchey said. "It does not discriminate by your sexual identity or sexual orientation. It actually is just as contagious amongst anyone."

According to the IDOH website, "Indiana has only been allocated a small amount meant to be used primarily to treat people who have been a close contact of a case to prevent severe disease."

Indiana has so far been allocated nearly 12,000 doses of the vaccine, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Vaccines are still in limited supply, Megan Wade-Taxter, spokesperson for IDOH, told IndyStar, and supply is being reserved for those who have been exposed or people who are more likely to get monkeypox.

Witchey said the Damien Center, which was given over 300 doses to distribute in late July, is currently putting highest priority on men living with HIV who have sex with men who are not virally suppressed or have low CD4 counts.

Fact check:Altered image shows fabricated magazine headline about monkeypox stigma

The second highest-priority group is men living with HIV who have sex with men who are virally suppressed and then the third and broadest category is men who have sex with men generally.

To request more information about the monkeypox vaccine and be notified when availability widens, register at this link: bit.ly/3QpuAkj The state health department will notify you via text when vaccines and clinics in your area become available.

For updates on vaccine clinics, visit the health department's website: bit.ly/3QfPyS.

Contact IndyStar trending reporter Claire Rafford at crafford@gannett.com or on Twitter@clairerafford.

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What is monkeypox? Here's how to get vaccine in Indiana - IndyStar

August 9, 2022

Vaccines meant to help prevent monkeypox are now available on a limited, targeted basis across the state, according to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH).

Public health experts are tracking an outbreak of monkeypox that has spread across several countries that dont normally report the disease, including the United States. No cases related to this outbreak have yet been identified among Wyoming residents.

Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer and state epidemiologist with WDH, said monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus. This disease is usually characterized by a rash and can also involve other symptoms such as fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and tiredness, she said.

Harrist noted monkeypox is rarely fatal but can be unpleasant and painful and can cause serious illness in some people.

Monkeypox can spread to anyone through close, personal contact, she said. Fortunately, it does not spread nearly as easily as do familiar viruses such as influenza or COVID-19.

Were recommending vaccination for people who have been exposed to monkeypox and also for people who may be more likely to get monkeypox based on the current outbreak and how it has been spreading, Harrist said. While anyone can get monkeypox, vaccine eligibility is limited at this point to those people who are at highest risk due to limited supplies.

The following adults are eligible for pre-exposure vaccination if they live or work in Wyoming:

Vaccinations will begin the week of August 15. Eligible adults interested in vaccination appointments should contact the public health office in their area. A listing of Wyoming public health offices by county can be found at https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/nursing/phn-co-offices/.

While available monkeypox vaccine doses are being provided by the federal government through the state at no charge, a small administration fee may be charged.

Monkeypox is related to smallpox with similar but milder symptoms. Monkeypox is not related to chickenpox.

More Wyoming-related information and updates about monkeypox can be found at

https://health.wyo.gov/publichealth/infectious-disease-epidemiology-unit/disease/monkeypox/.

Detailed facts, prevention recommendations and data about the virus are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/index.html.

Visit link:

Limited, Targeted Vaccines to Prevent Monkeypox Available - Wyoming Department of Health

What's happening

The monkeypox outbreak is a global and national public health emergency.

To stop monkeypox from becoming a disease that regularly circulates in the US, we need to slow the outbreak with tools like vaccines and testing.

Anyone can get monkeypox, but men who have sex with men are currently the people most impacted. If you have an unexplained sore or think you may have been exposed, seek medical care.

The monkeypox outbreak is still growing as dozens of countries continue reporting cases. As of the end of last week, there have been more than 11,000 cases in the US alone.

To reflect that monkeypox is no longer a regional illness concentrated in African countries, the World Health Organization announced Friday that it has changed the names of the two monkeypox variants or "clades" from the Congo Basin/Central Africa clade to "Clade I" and the West African clade to "Clade II." Clade II is the one currently circulating in the outbreak, it has two subvariants and it's typically less severe than Clade I.

The WHO also said that it's still working on finding a new name for monkeypox, which was named before current practices on naming viruses and diseases were in place. Anyone can submit a new name idea by creating an account through the WHO.

Monkeypoxis a disease caused by an orthopoxvirus that belongs to the same family as the viruses that cause smallpox and cowpox. It's endemic in West and Central Africa, and reports of it in the US have been rare but not unheard of. (There were two reported cases in 2021 and47 cases in 2003during an outbreak linked to pet prairie dogs.) It's a zoonotic disease, which means it's transmitted from animals to humans. The way monkeypox is spreading effectively between people is new to this global outbreak.

Monkeypox symptoms might also be a little different compared with earlier outbreaks, and the disease appears to be spreading by way of "new modes of transmission, about which we understand too little," WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesussaidduring a July 23press conference. The CDC has warned that some cases of monkeypox might be getting missed in testing, and that the monkeypox rash could be mistaken for other common infections, like herpes.

Because most cases of monkeypox are occurring in men who have sex with men, there's a current link to sexual contact, and the WHO and the CDC have issued recommendations for safer sex for those who are at higher risk of getting monkeypox, including encouraging the exchange of contact information with sexual partners in case there's an exposure. But it's important to remember that anyone can get monkeypox, and the myth that only gay men are affected could have lasting consequences, including ignoring the potential spread of the outbreak in other populations.

"Stigma and discrimination can be as dangerous as any virus," Tedros said.

Here's what to know about monkeypox.

Examples of monkeypox "pox" or rashes.

As of early August, monkeypox is apublic health emergency in the US. The declaration willopen up more funding and resourcesneeded to respond to the outbreak, including vaccines, testing and treatments. The Biden administration announced the formation of a White Housemonkeypox response teamto advise the administration on how to stop the outbreak.

"We are applying lessons learned from the battles we've fought -- from COVID response to wildfires to measles, and will tackle this outbreak with the urgency this moment demands," White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinator Robert Fenton said in apress release.

The federal responses come aftercriticismover inadequatevaccine accessand testing, and a general lack of awareness of the outbreak. The US Department of Health and Human Services said last week that anadditional 786,000 dosesof monkeypox vaccine will soon be available to states. The CDC last monthannouncedthat the number of tests US labs could run for monkeypox grew from 6,000 to 80,000 specimens per week.

"This should end," Dr. Eric Cioe-Pena, director of global health for New York's Northwell Health,told Healthline. "If it becomes endemic, it's a failure of public health."

The test involves taking aswab from a lesion or soreto test for the virus that causes monkeypox. For people who first develop flulike symptoms before lesions or sores appear, that may meanwaiting for lesions or "pox" to appear. But if you have symptoms, get tested and isolate at home.

If you were exposed to monkeypox but don't have any symptoms, you don't need to isolate, according to the CDC. But you should continue to monitor yourself for symptoms and take your temperature twice daily, if you can.

The CDC advises reminding your health care provider that monkeypox is circulating. If you think you have monkeypox but are turned down for a test, don't be afraid to seek a second or third opinion to get the care you need.Testing availability is expandingas the outbreak progresses, but because symptoms can vary and monkeypox was previously rare in the US, health providers may initially mistake it for other illnesses.

Symptoms of monkeypox in humans are similar to (but usually significantly milder than) those ofsmallpox, which the WHO declared eliminated in 1980.

A monkeypox infection can begin with flulike symptoms -- including fatigue, headache, fever and swollen lymph nodes -- followed by a rash, but some people will only develop the rash, according to the CDC. The monkeypox rash or individual sores can look like pimples or blisters and can be found pretty much anywhere on the body, including the hands, genitals, face, chest and inside the mouth or anus. Lesions can be flat or raised, full of clear or yellowish fluid and will eventuallydry up and fall off.

You can spread monkeypox until the sores heal and a new layer of skin forms, according to the CDC. Illness typically lasts for two to four weeks. The incubation period ranges from five to 21 days, according to the CDC, which means people will most likely develop symptoms within three weeks of being exposed. For some people, monkeypox lesions can be very painful.

Monkeypox doesn't have the same ability to infect people that the virus that causes COVID-19 has, says Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious-disease expert and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Monkeypox is generally understood to not be contagious during the incubation period (the time between being exposed and symptoms appearing), so it "doesn't have that ability to spread the way certain viruses like flu or SARS-CoV-2 can," Adalja said, referring to the coronavirus.

Monkeypoxspreads between peopleprimarily through contact with infectious sores, scabs or bodily fluids, according to the CDC, but it can also spread through prolonged face-to-face contact via respiratory droplets or by touching contaminated clothing or bedding. (Think the close contact you'd have with a sexual partner, the contact you have with strangers dancing at a club, or the contact you have with a household member whom you kiss, hug or share towels with.) Research is underway on whether (or how well) monkeypox can be spread through semen or vaginal fluid.

The "close" in close contact is a key element in the transmission of monkeypox. That, along with the fact that the virus that causes monkeypox appears to have a slower reproduction rate than the COVID-19 virus, sets it apart from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in June at a media briefing.

The majority of the cases in the US recently have been in men who have sex with men, the CDC says. Gay and bisexual communities tend to have particularly "high awareness and rapid health-seeking behavior when it comes to their and their communities' sexual health," Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, the WHO's regional director for Europe, said in astatementat the end of May, noting that those who sought early health care services should be applauded.

To help slow the spread of the disease, Tedros, the WHO director-general, on Wednesday said men who have sex with men should consider temporarily reducing the number of sexual partners they have, ormaking sure they get the contact information of all sexual partners, in case of an exposure.

The CDC issuedrecommendations regarding safer sex and monkeypox if there's a chance you or a partner might have monkeypox and you decide to still have sex. The guidance includes alternatives to sex like mutual masturbation or virtual sex, avoiding kissing, and generally avoiding skin-to-skin contact.

Depending on where they live, people at higher risk of catching monkeypox, including men with multiple recent sexual partners, may be able to get a monkeypox vaccine. However, supply has been limited and some people have reported trouble securing an appointment.

There are two clades or types of monkeypox virus, according to the WHO: the recently renamed Clade I and Clade II. Clade II, which has been identified in the recent cases, has had a fatality rate of less than 1% in the past. No deaths have been reported in the US. Clade I has a higher mortality rate of up to 10%, according to the WHO.

Though the circulating strain of monkeypox israrely fatal, according to the CDC, it can be very painful and may result in some scarring. Pregnant people, younger children, people with weakened immune systems and those with a history of eczema may be more likely to get seriously ill.

Antiviral medication like tecovirimat (TPOXX) can be used in people who are at risk of getting severely sick from monkeypox, according to the CDC. This treatment isn't approved specifically for monkeypox (it's meant for treating smallpox) andaccess to it has been restricted with paperwork and strict ordering instructions. However, the CDC recentlyloosened restrictions around the drug.

Monkeypox lesions progress through a series of stages before scabbing, according to the CDC. Though traditionally the rash starts on the face before becoming more widespread, monkeypox blemishes can be limited, resemble a pimple or other sore and aren't always necessarily accompanied by flulike symptoms.

Yes. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Jynneos to prevent smallpox andmonkeypox. Because monkeypox is so closely related to smallpox, vaccines for smallpox are also effective against monkeypox. In addition to Jynneos, the US has another smallpox vaccine in its stockpile, called ACAM2000. Because ACAM2000 is an older generation of vaccine with harsher side effects, it's not recommended for everyone, including people who are pregnant or immunocompromised.

Jynneos is the vaccine currently available to people who are at higher risk of getting monkeypox, or may have already been exposed to it. The FDA recently authorized a new way of giving people Jynneos that will stretch out the limited supply through intradermal vaccination, which requires a lower dose of vaccine compared to subcutaneous injection. (Basically, now people will get the vaccine under a top layer of skin as opposed to the standard shot that goes right into the arm.)

Vaccinating people who've been exposed to monkeypox is what Adalja calls "ring vaccination," where health officials isolate the infected person and vaccinate their close contacts to stop the spread. But vaccinating people with a confirmed exposure, in addition to people at risk of being exposed in the near future, may be crucial to getting control of the outbreak, according to the White House's chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Dr. Daniel Pastula, chief of neuroinfectious diseases and associate professor of neurology, medicine and epidemiology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, said the vaccine is used in people who've been exposed but aren't yet showing symptoms of monkeypox, because the incubation period for the disease is so long.

"Basically what you're doing is stimulating the immune system with the vaccine, and getting the immune system to recognize the virus before the virus has a chance to ramp up," Pastula said.

Though health care and lab professionals who work directly with monkeypox are recommended to receive smallpox vaccines (and even boosters), the original smallpox vaccines aren't available to the general public and haven't been widely administered in the US since the early 1970s. Because of this, any spillover or "cross-protective" immunity from smallpox vaccines would be limited to older people, theWHO said.

Read more about what we know about the monkeypox vaccine.

Now playing: Watch this: Monkeypox Explained: What You Need to Know

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The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

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Monkeypox Outbreak: What to Know About Variants and More - CNET

NEW YORK - As we continue to fight the monkeypox outbreak, city officials are holding a town hall in the Bronx to go over vaccination sites, testing and preventative measures.

It's happening at 5:30 p.m. at the New Settlement Community Center.

WEB EXTRA:Identifying monkeypox symptoms, prevention tips, how to get a vaccine and more

There are now more than 2,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox across New York City, with the majority of them in Manhattan.

Over the weekend, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine tweeted that more than 6,000 vaccination appointments were posted, and they were gone in an hour.

He said there needs to be more vaccine supply as soon as possible.

The CBS New York team is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on CBSNewYork.com.

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Town hall in the Bronx will tackle monkeypox vaccination sites, testing and more - CBS New York

Case counts of monkeypox continue to grow worldwide, raising concerns about how people can protect themselves. So far, the World Health Organization reports that in 12 countries, 92 cases have been confirmed in this recent emergence of the virus, and 28 possible cases are still being investigated. What alarms public health officials about the recent outbreaks is that monkeypox is generally not common or known to circulate in these nations; its endemic in parts of central and western Africa, but not in the European and North American nationsincluding the U.S.that are currently seeing an uptick in infections. The U.S. recorded its first case this year in Massachusetts on May 18, and officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a briefing on May 23 that the agency is working with state health departments in New York, Florida, and Utah to investigate four additional potential cases.

The good news is that an approved, effective, and relatively new monkeypox vaccine already exists. But do Americans need to get vaccinated?

Made by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic and named Jynneos, the vaccine uses a live version of the smallpox virus that has been engineered so that it cannot replicate in the body or cause infection, but can still activate the immune system to mount defenses against both the smallpox and monkeypox viruses to protect people from getting infected. According to studies conducted among people who were vaccinated in Africa, where the virus has circulated for years, two doses of the vaccine, given 28 days apart, were up to 85% effective in protecting people from getting monkeypox. It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2019 to protect against both smallpox and monkeypox.

Americans dont routinely get vaccinated against either disease. But in November 2021, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) within the CDC considered the question of who should be immunized against monkeypox, since cases in the U.S. have occurred after people traveled to areas in Africa where the disease is endemic. After analyzing the available studies, the ACIP recommended that those at highest risk of exposure and infectionincluding scientists who work in labs that study monkeypox virus, first responders who may treat those occupational cases, and health care workers who care for infected patientsshould receive the vaccine. The recommendations were accepted by CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and published in the agencys publication of record, the MMWR, on May 27, making them official.

The ACIP did a very good job of considering all the different populations who might have occupational risks of exposure [to monkeypox], says Brett Peterson, deputy chief of the pox virus and rabies branch of the CDC. But, he says, that was before the current clusters of cases, and the committee members focused primarily on how best to protect people at high occupational risk from getting infected, since there wasnt a significant danger of cases in the wider population. The recommendations did not address potential community cases of monkeypox, and whether people other than those at high occupational risk of exposure should get vaccinated. But if cases continue to emerge, the agency may review the data and address that need if it becomes relevant.

Unlike with the COVID-19 vaccines, immunizing people against monkeypox likely wont involve a mass campaign, because monkeypox isnt as contagious or as easily spread as SARS-CoV-2. Monkeypox was discovered in 1958 and named after the colonies of monkeys, which were part of research studies, in which the virus was first identified. In recent years, human cases have been reported primarily in central and West African countries such as Nigeria and Cameroon, with the West African virus, which circulates widely in Nigeria, resulting in less severe disease than the central African version. As a poxvirus, its symptoms are similar to those of smallpox, and include fever, muscle aches, and headache. Unlike smallpox, however, monkeypox also causes the lymph nodes to swell, and several days after the initial fever, hallmark lesions start appearing throughout the body, eventually developing into larger fluid-filled vesicles and pustules before forming scabs. Most people with the disease recover without treatments after two to four weeks, although antiviral therapies could be helpful, especially for those with weakened immune systems. In the May 23 press briefing, CDC scientists noted that the data showing the efficacy of these antiviral treatments in human patients are still limited, and that most of the data supporting their use come from animal studies.

The virus can spread through a number of routes, the most common and direct being via breaks in the skin or contact with body fluids. Monkeypox and also transmit from one person to another through respiratory droplets from sneezes or salivaalthough infection is less likely to occur this way and more likely to happen with direct contact with the virus-laden lesions.

Thats why vaccinating for monkeypox will most likely involve a version of what experts call a ring strategy, and focus on immunizing only those with contact with infected individuals. If a case is reported in the country, a public health SWAT team goes out, finds out who the close contacts are of that first case, and vaccinates just those close contacts, and not the entire city or suburb, says Dr. David Freedman, professor emeritus of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and president-elect of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Because monkeypox is not a virus that is spread mainly through respiratory transmission, you dont see huge numbers of infected people. So you can do ring vaccination around the known cases.

If that approach is used, we have sufficient vaccine in the Strategic National Stockpile to vaccinate the entire U.S. population, says Peterson. I am confident that there is sufficient vaccine available for use in this situation. The U.S.s initial contract with Bavarian Nordic after the vaccine was approved called for 28 million doses of the vaccine to be provided for the stockpile over a number of years. But because some of those doses were delivered around 2019, some have expired, and the terms of the agreement require the company to replace expired doses with freshly manufactured ones.

Captain Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the division of high consequence pathogens and pathology at CDC, said during the press briefing that about 1,000 doses of the vaccine are currently available, and that Bavarian Nordic expects to ramp up production to increase that supply. In addition, on May 18, the U.S.s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Department of Health and Human Services, called in an existing order for up to 13 million additional frozen doses to add to that stockpile. The versions of the vaccine currently in storage were manufactured as a liquid and then frozen, which gives them a shorter shelf life, according to Peterson. The newer, freeze-dried versions are first turned into a powder that makes them more resistant to changes in temperature before they are reconstituted just before being injected. But these more shelf-stable vaccines wont be available until 2023 and 2024.

McQuiston added that so far, officials at the Massachusetts Department of Health have identified more than 200 close contacts of the only confirmed monkeypox case in the U.S.most of whom are health care workersand that some of those contacts have been vaccinated with doses from the national stockpile.

That stockpile also contains doses of a different, older smallpox vaccine, which has not been reviewed or approved by the FDA specifically for monkeypox, but could also be used to protect people against the latter disease, since the viruses are related and the shots can generate immunity that can cross react with both viruses. This vaccine, called ACAM2000, has been approved in the U.S., Australia, and Singapore to protect against smallpox but can cause side effects including inflammation of heart tissues, and it is not recommended for people with weakened immune systems. Unlike Jynneos, ACAM2000 is built around a disabled monkeypox virus that is still able to replicate, although it cant cause disease. Jynneos was developed specifically to offer those with compromised immune systems an option for getting vaccinated against smallpox, but its safer profile led the FDA to approve it for the general population as well. The vaccines ability to cross-react and generate immune protection against monkeypox made it doubly useful. Its important to know that Jynneos can be given to people without needing a detailed health screening, says Freedman.

There isnt strong enough evidence yet to suggest where and how the recent outbreaks began, but the clusters in Europe involve men who have sex with men, and many of these global reports of monkeypox cases are occurring within sexual networks, said Dr. Inger Damon, a poxvirus expert with the CDC, in a statement on the agencys website.

The first genetic analysis of the monkeypox viruses from the recent cases suggests that they originated in Nigeria, where one of two common versions of the virus are endemic, and were brought to other parts of the world via infected travelers. But researchers will continue to analyze the genetic data further to understand if and how the latest clusters of cases are related.

In the meantime, should the outbreak grow significantly in scale and scope enough to warrant immunization, health experts in the U.S. are confident that there will be enough doses of the shot to be distributed to Americans who might need them.

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There's a Monkeypox Vaccine. But Not Everyone May Need It | Time

As supply dictates, the Monkeypox vaccine is available by appointment at clinics throughout the city, including Kaiser Permanente and UCSF. See sites below.

The walk-in vaccination clinic located at ZSFG at 1001 Potrero, Building 30, is open through Friday, August 12 from 8am noon. Additionally, the clinic will be open on Saturday, August 13 from 8am 3:30pm. No appointment is needed.

Kaiser Permanente will have a walk-in vaccination clinic for patients and non-patients on Saturday, August 13 from 9am 2pm at the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center at 2675 Geary Boulevard.

Medical providers Kaiser and UCSF will be providing doses via appointments and will serve both non-patients and patients. Please check their websites for appointments or call your provider for more information.

DPH is working with local community-based organizations to provide the vaccine to those who may not have access to thewalk-inclinic or a healthcare provider.We will continue to keep the community updated onadditionalallocations of vaccines and access points.

To date, we have receivedapproximately23,000 doses from the federal stockpile from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). SFDPH requested 35,000 doses to begin to meet the need.

This, unfortunately, means that someone may be eligible for a vaccine but unable to receive it immediately due to a lack of vaccine supply from the State and Federal governments.

The goal is for everyone who wantsa vaccine to receive a vaccine.

We will let the community know as soon as we have more doses of the vaccine.

People who live and work in San Francisco are eligible for aJynneos vaccine:

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Monkeypox Vaccine | San Francisco

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The Biden administration today said it ordered 2.5 million more doses of Bavarian Nordics Jynneos monkeypox vaccine, bringing the total vaccine doses to be delivered in 2022 and 2023 to more than 4 million.

The news followed Tuesdays announcement of the first phase of the U.S. governments national monkey vaccine strategy, which will expand testing capabilities and make Bavarian Nordics Jynneos vaccines readily available to anyone exposed to the virus.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the governments enhanced nationwide strategy will vaccinate and protect those at-risk of monkeypox, as well as provide guidance to communities on how to respond to outbreaks.

We are focused on making sure the public and healthcare 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 Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

As part of the strategy, the CDC and HHS began shipping tests to five major laboratory companies across the country: Aegis Science, Labcorp, Mayo Clinic Laboratories, Quest Diagnostics and Sonic Healthcare.

The government, which for months has been buying more Jynneos doses to add to the national stockpile, is now distributing the vaccine. Its currently making available 296,000 doses and expects to roll out 750,000 doses over the summer, with an additional 500,000 doses produced and released in the fall for a total of 1.6 million doses this year.

The Jynneos vaccine is licensed for use in adults and is considered safer than Emergent BioSolutions Inc.s ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine, which also can be used against monkeypox, the HHS said.

The vaccine will be made available to individuals with confirmed and presumed monkeypox exposures, said the HHS.

This includes 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.

Health officials seeking to expand use of monkeypox vaccine for kids, despite lack of safety data

U.S. health officials also are seeking to expand use of the monkeypox vaccine for children, Bloomberg reported.

The CDC is developing a protocol aimed at allowing use of the Jynneos vaccine in children should cases in children occur, Kristen Nordlund, a CDC spokesperson, said in an email to Bloomberg.

Im concerned about sustained transmission because it would suggest that the virus is establishing itself, and it could move into high-risk groups, including children, the immunocompromised, and pregnant women, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a Wednesday press briefing.

Were starting to see this with several children already infected, he added.

There have been 350 cases so far of monkeypox in the U.S. all adults according to the CDC. The agency confirmed 5,115 cases worldwide.

The WHO confirmed two cases in children in the U.K. and said Wednesday it is following up on reports of cases in children in Spain and France.

No safety trials have been done in children for the Jynneos vaccine as of yet, partly because clinical research involving participants under the age of 18 must pose no more than minimal risk to children, which can be difficult for vaccine manufacturers to argue.

Commenting on the CDCs actions, Dr. Meryl Nass, a member of the Childrens Health Defense scientific advisory committee, told The Defender, Its kind of extraordinary that they want to vaccinate everyone in the country before knowing what the safety issues are.

Nass, an internist and biological warfare epidemiologist, said, We dont actually know if the Jynneos vaccine prevents monkeypox in humans because it was developed as a smallpox vaccine, and prevention studies have been conducted using only animals.

It is hard to believe that the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)] gave this vaccine a license when you read the FDA reviewers comments in their own report, Nass wrote in her June 23 substack newsletter.

They could not test the vaccine for efficacy against smallpox because there is no smallpox, nor against monkeypox, because the disease is so rare, Nass wrote. So the FDA relied on neutralizing antibody titers.

At the same time, the FDA admitted there is no established correlate of protection, Nass said.

This means that there is no evidence that the titers represent actual immunity to infection, Nass wrote. So FDA relied on animal studies to simply guess the vaccine might be effective in humans.

According to the FDA, the effectiveness of Jynneos for the prevention of monkeypox is inferred from the antibody responses in the smallpox clinical study participants and from studies in non-human primates that showed protection of animals vaccinated with Jynneos who were exposed to the monkeypox virus.

Jynneos, a replication-deficient live Vaccinia virus vaccine, was licensed in the U.S. in 2019, by the FDA for use in individuals 18 and over considered to be at high risk for smallpox or monkeypox.

In 2021, the CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend Jynneos as a safer alternative to the ACAM2000 vaccine because of ACAM2000s propensity to cause serious adverse effects, including myocarditis and pericarditis i.e., inflammation of the heart.

However, Nass noted, Jynneos also was linked to heart inflammation, according to the FDA licensure review of the Jynneos smallpox-monkeypox vaccine which reported:

Up to 18.4% of subjects in 2 studies developed post-vaccination elevation of troponin [a cardiac muscle enzyme signifying cardiac damage]. However, all of these troponin elevations were asymptomatic and without a clinically associated event or other sign of myopericarditis.

These higher levels of troponin were not studied further, and the reviewers admitted they did not know if the Jynneos vaccine caused myocarditis, Nass said.

The Jynneos manufacturers said they would conduct an observational, post-marketing study in which they would collect data on cardiac events that occur and are assessed as a routine part of medical care.

But myocarditis particularly asymptomatic forms of myocarditis that lack outer signs of the condition could fly under the radar of the routine part of medical care, noted Nass.

The manufacturers would need to test for heightened troponin levels something that is not typically done in routine check-ups.

The authors of a 2015 study reported evidence of heart injury following vaccination in a sample of 1,445 individuals who received a smallpox or trivalent influenza vaccine.

They found that chest pain, shortness of breath and/or palpitations occurred in 10.6% of those who received the smallpox vaccine SPX-vaccinees and 2.6% of those who received the trivalent influenza vaccine within 30 days of immunization.

Additionally, the study authors reported levels more than double the upper limit of troponin a protein that flags cardiac injury in 31 of the individuals who received the smallpox vaccine.

Passive surveillance significantly underestimates the true incidence of myocarditis/pericarditis after smallpox immunization, they concluded.

The authors added:

Evidence of subclinical transient cardiac muscle injury post-vaccine immunization is a finding that requires further study to include long-term outcomes surveillance. Active safety surveillance is needed to identify adverse events that are not well understood or previously recognized.

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U.S. Orders 2.5 Million More Monkeypox Vaccine Doses, as CDC Looks to ...

Some 500 doses of monkeypox vaccine are headed to Utah, where five cases of the virus have now been reported.

Utah is one of 32 states and jurisdictions as of Tuesday that had requested the smallpox vaccine deemed effective in treating and preventing monkeypox. The vaccine is being distributed as part of the Biden administrations response to the global outbreak of the virus that now includes five cases in Utah.

Three cases have been identified in Salt Lake County, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated Utahs case count to five on Wednesday afternoon. One of the new cases is in Utah County and the other is in Salt Lake County, according to Utah Department of Health spokeswoman Charla Haley.

The latest Salt Lake County case was reported Wednesday afternoon and has yet to be confirmed by the CDC, Salt Lake County Health Department spokesman Nicholas Rupp said. The Salt Lake County resident became infected while traveling, is in isolation and does not present a risk to the public. Contact tracing is underway, Rupp said.

The Salt Lake County Health Department is already working on a distribution plan to get the vaccine to those considered at high risk for monkeypox, currently primarily men who have sex with men, but is still waiting to hear how many doses will be available and when theyll arrive, Rupp said.

Neither the three people confirmed to have monkeypox in Salt Lake County nor anyone they came in contact with needs the vaccine, Rupp said. The two Salt Lake County men who became Utahs first cases in May after a European trip have recovered, and he said the states third case, also a county resident, is doing good.

The four infected people in Salt Lake County agreed to voluntarily isolate, Rupp said, until they were fully healed from the effects of the virus, which often starts with a rash that turns into fluid-filled pustules that scab over then eventually fall off. Besides prolonged close contact, monkeypox can also be spread through bedding and other materials.

Haley said the CDC initially agreed to send the state 20 doses of the smallpox vaccine thats being released from the nations strategic stockpile. Later, she said the federal agency, which was scheduled Wednesday to discuss future doses, was sending about 500 doses.

The White House announced plans Tuesday to provide the Jynneos vaccine nationwide to individuals at high risk to mitigate the spread of monkeypox, a disease that had largely been confined to parts of Africa until the latest outbreak.

So far, more than 9,000 doses of vaccine, along with 300 courses of antiviral smallpox treatments, have been deployed and another 296,000 doses will be allocated over the coming weeks, including 56,000 immediately, the administration said, promising a total of 1.6 million additional doses will become available.

Because smallpox was eradicated and routine vaccination ended in the United States in 1972, the vaccine has been stored by the federal government. Utah and other states that dont have a share of the nations smallpox vaccine stockpile would have to wait up to 72 hours for doses to be transferred by the federal government.

Public health officials have said that would still be enough time to make a difference, since it is believed smallpox vaccine administered within four days of exposure to monkeypox provides protection against developing the disease, and within 14 days, may reduce its severity.

There are at least 351 monkeypox cases confirmed in the United States, and more than 5,100 worldwide, according to the CDC.

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Why the federal government is sending monkeypox vaccine to Utah