People queued for smallpox vaccines in New York. The Anadolu agency through Getty Images
Basic elements
The new strategy recommends that anyone with confirmed or suspected exposure to monkey pox be vaccinated, extending previous rules restricting shootings to only people with known exposure. This includes people who have had close physical contact with a person diagnosed with monkey pox, people who know their sexual partner has been diagnosed, and “men who have sex with men who have recently had multiple sexual partners in a place known to be “Monkey pox or in an area where monkey pox is spreading,” said the Ministry of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS said it would deliver 56,000 doses of the Jynneos smallpox vaccine directly to the states from the National Reserve and provide an additional 240,000 doses in the coming weeks. Jynneos, produced by Danish biotech Bavarian Nordic, is given in two doses 28 days apart and is the safest of the two monkeypox vaccines used. Supplies are limited and officials said priority would be given to states with the highest rates of smallpox in monkeys and those most vulnerable to serious illnesses, including Hawaii, Massachusetts, Utah, Illinois, New York, New York, New York and New York. Island, California, Colorado and Florida and Washington, DC, which are expected to be the top tier of vaccine recipients, according to a draft plan seen by the Washington Post. States may also request supplies of ACAM2000, an older smallpox vaccine that is also believed to protect against monkeypox and is much larger, although it is associated with serious side effects and its design makes it unsuitable for immunocompromised and pregnant women. .
Key background
Monkeypox is a well-understood entity that has erupted in parts of Central and West Africa for decades. For decades, too, monkey pox has been largely ignored by the world community, which, before this year’s outbreak, rarely dealt with the disease, and these cases were almost always associated with travel. It does not spread easily and is mainly transmitted through close contact with an infected animal or person or contaminated objects such as towels, clothes or bedding, although it can also be spread through respiratory droplets produced when people breathe, cough, talk or sneeze. Smallpox usually causes symptoms that include fever and a characteristic rash. The infection is usually relatively mild and will go away on its own within about a month. However, it can kill and cause serious illness and infection is especially dangerous for children and pregnant women. The virus is a close relative of smallpox, arguably one of the deadliest diseases to plague humanity and the only human disease that has ever been eradicated. This proximity means that there are treatments and vaccines available for monkey pox, even if they are not designed for it.
News Peg
In May, the near-simultaneous appearance of monkey pox in countries where it usually does not spread to Europe and North America alarmed experts and public health authorities. Some of these experts have long warned that a complete cessation of smallpox vaccination would leave people vulnerable to smallpox epidemics, and the way in which cases have occurred suggests it may have been circulating quietly for some time. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that there were 351 confirmed smallpox cases in the United States as of June 29, with large groups in California (80), New York (72), Illinois (46) and Florida (35). . The official number is likely to be a serious understatement and could paint an overly rosy picture of the spread of the disease. Experts warn that inadequate and inadequate testing for the virus has left the nation unaware of the true extent of the epidemic. Globally, the CDC said that more than 5,000 cases have been confirmed in 51 different countries with laboratory tests during the 2022 epidemic. Most of them have been recorded in European countries such as the United Kingdom (1,076), Germany (874). ), Spain (800), France (440), Portugal (391) and the Netherlands (257). A remarkable complex has also been documented in Canada (276). Many more cases are suspected but not confirmed, and official reports probably underestimate the number of cases, especially in areas with poor testing infrastructure. These data also do not record the extent of the much larger monkeypox epidemic that has been going on in some African countries, especially Nigeria, since the beginning of this year and as an endemic disease for decades. Despite most infections for much longer, these countries have not received any monkeypox vaccine.
Big number
1.6 million So many doses of the Jynneos vaccine will be available to the federal government this year, HHS said, including the nearly 300,000 doses that have already been released or are expected in the coming weeks. HHS said it expects an additional 750,000 doses to be available in the summer and another 500,000 throughout the fall. As of the end of June, HHS said it had already distributed more than 9,000 doses of the vaccine.
What to watch out for
Vaccine supplies and change of suitability. There is not nearly enough Jynneos vaccine available in federal stock for anyone who may want it. There were already supply problems in areas that started their own initiatives before the national campaign. In Washington, DC, and New York City, for example, vaccine supplies reportedly ran out less than a day after they began vaccination. The issue could escalate if the eligibility guidelines are extended or the outbreak is increased. Officials have acknowledged the limited supply of vaccines and suggested that the national strategy could change when supplies are more stable. A stronger vaccine supply chain could mean a shift to vaccinating humans before being exposed to monkey pox, CDC director Dr Rosell Valensky told a news conference.
Tangent
While the Jynneos vaccine may be in short supply, HHS officials told Forbes that there is enough smallpox vaccine in federal stockpiles to immunize the entire U.S. population. The exact distribution is not clear, but an important part consists of the ACAM vaccine. There is also a third vaccine, the smallpox vaccine Aventis Pasteur (APSV), which has similar problems to ACAM and has not been cleared for use. The nature of the ACAM vaccine poses some unique challenges if Jynneos supplies are inadequate. In addition to the identified risk of potentially serious side effects, the vaccine uses a related virus, vaccinia, to cause a wound or follicle in the recipient, usually in the upper arm. In rare cases, this can spread elsewhere in the body or even to other people and can leave a characteristic scar. The use of live virus limits who can be administered, in particular by excluding people with weakened immune systems, people in close contact with such people, and pregnant women. As monkey pox cases have been disproportionately reported among men who have sex with men, this poses a potentially significant problem, as the rates of people living with HIV are higher in this community. An additional issue arises with how to use the ACAM download. It is based on an old form of vaccination that has a special technique and special forked needle, which most clinicians are unlikely to have much, if any, experience of using.
Further reading
LGBTQ Pride events offer opportunity for monkey pox (NBC News) What you need to know about how monkey pox spreads — and if you should wear a mask (Forbes)
