Category: Monkey Pox Vaccine

INDIANA (WEHT) The Centers for Disease Control and Preventionrecommends people who are likely to get monkeypox or may have been exposed to it get a vaccination.

According to the Indiana Department of Health, people more likely to get monkeypox include:

As of September 14, the following counties have clinics offering the monkeypox vaccine.

Health officials say the immune response takes 14 days after the second dose to reach maximum strength. People who get vaccinated should continue to take steps toprotect themselves from infectionby avoiding close, skin-to-skin contact, including intimate contact, with someone who has monkeypox.

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Heres where Hoosiers can get the monkeypox vaccine - Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW)

The Vaccine and Antiviral Prioritization Policy Committee, the group that developed the requirements for who was eligible for a COVID-19 jab when supply couldn't meet demand, convened once more Wednesday to discuss the limited number of doses of vaccine available on Guam for monkeypox cases.

The island's current supply would be able to distribute doses of vaccine to fewer than 200 people.

We have the first shipment of 60 vials and, if we use the alternative regiment, ... we get five doses instead of one dose out of every vial. So 60 vials - thats 150 people, Dr. Robert Leon Guerrero, Department of Public Health and Social Services interim chief medical officer, said of the two-dose vaccine.

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The monkeypox vaccine is given to individuals in two separate subcutaneous injections.

But, given the relatively low supply, not every resident on Guam who wants to get vaccinated will be able to - at least for now.

I think the decision was to just give the vaccine to those with known exposure to someone with monkeypox, Leon Guerrero said. To try to give it pre-exposure is going to be a daunting task because, again, we only have enough doses for 150 people.

Leon Guerrero went on to explain that monkeypox is transmitted mainly through close or intimate contact.

It's usually men who have sex with men. (If doses are given on a large scale,) the vaccine will disappear in a couple of days ... and the next shipment will be for 20 vials, which is 50 people, thats it, Leon Guerrero said.

Testing recommendations

Testing through a health care provider is currently recommended to those experiencing a rash consistent with monkeypox, or for people who think they may have come in contact with a person positive for monkeypox, Leon Guerrero said.

The first monkeypox case on island was reported Monday by Public Health. The patient has been identifiedonly as an incoming traveler. DPHSS said the imported case of monkeypox does not present a risk to the community.

With this particular case, there was no contact, so theres no one being quarantined as of yet because there are no close contacts for this particular case, Leon Guerrero said.

Governors communication director Krystal Paco-San Augustin confirmed Monday that the imported case was linked to a domestic flight. DPHSS previously noted that the inbound passenger was advised not to travel, but did so anyway.

"This test that he had done, where he had came from, came back positive. Since then, no further cases of monkeypox, Leon Guerrero said.

Symptoms

DPHSS continues to educate the community on reducing risk for transmission and symptoms to look out for.

A pimple or blister-like rash around the genitals, hands, feet, chest, face or mouth is associated with symptoms caused bymonkeypox. The rash goes through several stages before scabbing and healing.

Other symptoms ofmonkeypoxcan include:

Fever.

Chills.

Swollen lymph nodes.

Exhaustion.

Muscle aches and backache.

Headache.

Respiratory symptoms (e.g. sore throat, nasal congestion, or cough).

Monkeypoxis transmitted through direct contact, often skin-to-skin, or through touching objects previously touched by an infected person. The illness typically lasts two to four weeks, according to DPHSS.

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60 vials of monkeypox vaccine on island | Guam News | postguam.com - The Guam Daily Post

Its been three months since the first case of monkeypox was confirmed in Maryland which has grown to nearly 600 cases statewide, roughly 170 of which are in Baltimore City. The Baltimore City Health Department has already used 689 vaccines, leaders told Baltimore City Council members during a Wednesday morning hearing. It was not immediately clear how many people have been vaccinated since it requires a two-dose series.

Still, its the first time the city has shared how many vaccines have been used so far. Statewide, more than 4,100 people have been vaccinated against the virus, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

Monkeypox is a virus that spreads between people through direct contact with skin lesions. Symptoms may include a fever, body aches, chills, fatigue and potentially rashes and lesions on the face and hands. Some people may require hospitalization but most recover within a month.

Now city officials want to vaccinate more residents, especially those who are most at risk, such as men who have sex with men. But some community leaders have bemoaned the citys vaccination outreach efforts as lackluster and that theres not enough shots for those who want it.

As of this week, the state was allocated 23,299 monkeypox vaccine doses from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. So far, 14,539 vaccine doses have been shipped to the state health department. It was not immediately clear if the vaccines shipped have arrived yet.

Baltimore Citys health department was given 725 doses from the state, according to Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, Baltimore Citys health commissioner. The city is keeping 31 doses on hand for people who are in close contact with a person diagnosed with monkeypox.

We understand that the demand was very high and our infrastructure made it frustrating to schedule some of those vaccine appointments, Dzirasa told the citys Health, Environment and Technology Committee. Subsequently, we are working on increasing our capacity.

The citys next phase of its monkeypox immunization plan is to offer the vaccine to eligible patients through the citys public health clinics such as those who treat people with sexually transmitted infections like HIV.

Health clinics participating in the federal Ryan White Program, named after a teenager who died of AIDS after contracting HIV in the 1980s, will offer the vaccine to patients.

Officials are hoping to reach people who are at the highest risk for contracting the virus, which also includes those with more than one sexual partner and those who engage in transactional sex.

Beyond that, the city plans to contract with a private company to vaccinate more residents, especially those without stable housing, and is finalizing the procurement process.

Some city officials and community advocates alike are wary that Baltimore is vaccinating people fast enough to curb the spread of the virus and identifying those who need the most help.

My main concerns are that we have a vaccination and outreach strategy that is focused on equity, said Danielle McCray, chairperson of the Baltimore City Health, Environment and Technology Committee. Im optimistic about the strategy from the health department we heard today.

Some members of the LGBTQ+ community worried about contracting monkeypox have already traveled outside city limits to get vaccinated, a sign the city has fallen behind, one advocate said.

The vaccinations have not been readily available at all, said Ngaire Philip, a community development organizer for Baltimore Safe Haven, transgender health center. People have had to go out of the city to get the vaccine, which I think is ridiculous considering we are a city with more than 600,000 people in it. At the very least we should have enough resources to get those who want to get vaccinated, vaccinated.

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Baltimore City is revamping its monkeypox strategy, advocates worry roll out is too slow - WYPR

But the sudden drop in vaccination rates has local health departments and public health experts concerned the public may be moving on from the threat of monkeypox too soon, leaving unvaccinated people vulnerable and giving the virus an opening to circulate indefinitely.

So far, 461,049 doses of the vaccine have been administered, according to CDC data from 34 states and New York City. Thats 14 percent of the 3.2 million doses needed to fully vaccinate with two shots the 1.6 million people the government said are at high risk.

The shots that have been used have also gone heavily to white recipients, whove received 50 percent of them, compared to 13 percent for Black people, 24 percent for Hispanic individuals, and 9 percent to those in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

Last month, federal health officials said getting vaccines to large LGBTQ events would help stem the outbreak because men who have sex with men make up the vast majority of cases, and also reach Black and Latino communities disproportionately impacted. But the inconsistent results of the pilot project reveal how the landscape is shifting.

Event organizers received enough vaccine to give the shot to 2,000 people at Charlotte Pride earlier this month, but vaccinated 540. In Oakland, 553 people were vaccinated out of 1,200 doses allotted to a Pride event over Labor Day weekend. And in New Orleans, about 3,350 people got shots before and during Southern Decadence, leaving nearly as many doses unused. Atlanta Black Pride had more success, with nearly 4,000 doses administered out of 5,500 allotted.

Local health officials are continuing their outreach at smaller events, but attribute the low uptake at most of the big ones to a variety of challenges, including the weather, the times the vaccines were distributed, and difficulties getting revelers to think about a health care issue while they were having fun.

They also said the numbers may indicate the need for new approaches similar to what happened with Covid shots. After an initial surge of interest dropped off, health departments moved from making as much vaccine available as quickly as possible to holding smaller, more targeted events to educate people about the disease and persuade them of the vaccines merits.

The White House said it never expected all of the doses allocated to big events to be used and will continue to distribute vaccines at upcoming ones, such as the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco.

It also said it will work more closely with local officials and community organizers to figure out how to target harder-to-reach people. Last week, it earmarked 10,000 doses for smaller outreach efforts, part of a pilot program Daskalakis said now aims to reach deeper into communities and to close the gap in vaccination rates among different demographics.

But as the outbreak has started to slow down, with the rate of new cases now in decline, vaccine uptake has also dropped. Since a peak in early August, when 86,816 doses were administered the week after HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra declared a public health emergency, the number of doses used has fallen each week, with 31,229 administered in the week from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3.

Thats concerning at this stage in the outbreak, said Anand Parekh, chief medical adviser at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank.

I didnt expect this to drop off as quickly, he said. Even if you assume that this is an underestimate, we still do have a ways to go.

Parekh worries that the apparent slowing of the diseases spread is affecting peoples sense of urgency. I just hope that that doesnt convince people on the fence of getting vaccinated, to say, Well look, cases going down. Its not a big deal anyhow, he said.

As of Sept. 12, 21,894 people in the U.S. have contracted monkeypox, more than any other nation in the global outbreak. The disease can cause flu-like symptoms and a painful rash. Thus far, the variant spreading in the U.S. has not proved as virulent as a strain thats endemic in parts of Africa. The Los Angeles Public Health Department reported the U.S.'s first monkeypox death, of a severely immunocompromised resident, on Sept. 12.

Local public health officials said they support the administrations targeted campaign, but they wonder where the money will come from to expand on it. The White House has asked Congress for $4.5 billion for monkeypox response in the U.S. and abroad, but Republican senators have balked at the price tag.

As a result, some local health departments are scraping together Covid relief dollars to conduct outreach at community-based events.

Its a hard, long slog. Its much easier to say, We opened up a big vaccination center in the Superdome, everybody come. Its super easy logistically to do that rather than, like, OK, every other day were going to be in different tiny little places, said Jennifer Avegno, director of the New Orleans Health Department. But if youre going to put your money into something, I think this is money well spent.

New Orleans learned its lesson in February 2020, when Mardi Gras became the states first Covid superspreader event. City health officials did not want Southern Decadence, a multiday event over Labor Day weekend known as the Gay Mardi Gras, to be a repeat with monkeypox.

In June, local officials started working with their state counterparts to put the event on the CDCs radar. On July 8, they requested additional vaccines to use before and during Decadence. But it wasnt until about two weeks before the event they got word the doses were coming, Avegno said.

We had sort of a doomsday plan of, How are we going to use the little weve got? We had started to really push, push, push, but we were very concerned that we werent going to have any extras to give at large events, Avegno said. It was a little touch and go.

Eventually, New Orleans was given 1,200 vials of the vaccine, equivalent to a maximum of 6,000 doses.

The week before Decadence, the city shut down two blocks in the French Quarter to host a street party Vaxxtravaganza with stilt walkers and a DJ. Between that and other events in New Orleans and across Louisiana before Labor Day weekend, health officials used their allocation to vaccinate about 2,500 people. And at Decadence itself in the rain the city gave shots to 850 people over five days. I would have loved to have given out 1,200 vials, Avegno said. But I think we did just about as well as we could.

Health officials in other cities ran into similar challenges. In Oakland, they battled record-breaking heat while administering vaccines at Pride over Labor Day weekend. And in Charlotte last month, they ran into difficulties convincing people who came to party to take the vaccine.

A lot of folks were not as interested in being vaccinated during the celebration because they were wanting to go drink, they wanted to celebrate, said Raynard Washington, Mecklenburg Countys public health director.

At Charlotte Pride in August, health officials ran into difficulties convincing people who came to the event to take the monkeypox vaccine.|Nell Redmond/AP Photo

Local health officials said they view any event where they were able to give someone a vaccine a success. But they also acknowledge that decreasing interest in the shots means theyre going to need to invest more energy into reaching people through smaller, community-based events just like they did with Covid shots.

Were getting now into the phase where we really have to make sure people that are the most at risk are going to get the vaccine, said Stockton Mayer, a doctor in the division of infectious diseases at UI Health in Chicago.

Mark Del Beccaro, assistant deputy chief of Covid testing and immunization programs in King County, where Seattle is, said that while large-scale events are helpful early on in a vaccination campaign, smaller events are needed to fill in the gaps. Seattle has vaccinated only about half of the 20,000 people it initially identified as being at highest risk of contracting monkeypox, he said, and interest in the vaccine is shrinking.

I think if you combine the two [strategies], yes, you can help address equity issues. If you throw the balls all into one court, its not as good, Del Beccaro said. And if you were going to do that, I would say the smaller group, one that addresses communities of color, is probably more valuable than the big one.

In early August, the monkeypox outbreak in Georgia was unfolding in an alarming pattern: 82 percent of its known cases were in Black men, despite Black individuals comprising 31 percent of the states population.

As Atlanta Black Pride approached over Labor Day weekend, local health officials reached out to A Vision 4 Hope, an Atlanta-based organization that has done health care outreach and testing in the areas Black LGBTQ community for years.

We were in the community that was hit the hardest, and we had built-in relationships, said Jeffery Roman, the groups director of programs.

A Vision 4 Hope received vaccines from the state and for five days administered shots to people in parking lots, local bars, and house parties. We would show up and people were already in line, said Roman. Literally every night we were going to 4 a.m.

In the end, the vaccination drive at Atlanta Black Pride was a success, with more than 70 percent of the allocated doses used.

The White House is hoping the same kind of relationships will help overcome the barriers to vaccination that persist among communities of color. As of mid-August, of the 6,000 or so monkeypox cases for which the CDC had race and ethnicity data, nearly 35 percent of cases were in white individuals, 33 percent were in Hispanic individuals, and nearly 28 percent were in Black individuals.

In the new pilot program, states and local health departments that have used more than 50 percent of the vaccines that have been shipped to them can apply to get as many as 100 vials or up to 500 doses for smaller equity interventions to reach populations that could benefit from monkeypox prevention, Daskalakis said.

He described an equity intervention as what works in your state, county or city to reach people who we may not be reaching, especially people of color and members of the LGBTQI+ population.

On Sept. 6, HHS also announced it was increasing the number of weekly shipments and delivery locations that the monkeypox vaccines and treatment could be sent to from the national stockpile.

That will help broaden vaccine access at smaller locations, said Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers.

She said the lull in vaccination numbers may not necessarily reflect a permanent drop in demand. It may be because some local health departments are only now switching from a post-exposure to pre-exposure vaccination strategy, and that, unlike with the Covid-19 vaccines, medical providers are not required to report to government health officials the doses of monkeypox vaccine theyve given, she said.

What long-term demand for the monkeypox vaccine will look like is hard to say, she said. I dont think anybody has a clear view of what it means right at the moment.

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As demand for the monkeypox vaccine stalls, outreach goes hyperlocal - POLITICO

Leigh Blander| Special to Provincetown Banner

White House plans monkeypox action for gay events

The White House said Tuesday it is taking new actions to combat the monkeypox (MPV) outbreak and protect individuals most at risk of contracting the virus by providing additional vaccines to states and cities holding gay events. (Aug. 30)

AP

PROVINCETOWN Provincetown health officials have administered more than 4,350 monkeypox vaccines and anticipate the health emergency will quiet down in the community moving forward.

As we move into the fall, the demand for vaccines here should be minimal, saidAndrew Jorgensen, chief medical officer at Outer Cape Health Services.

Monkeypox is a disease caused by infection from a virus, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can cause flu-like symptoms, swollen lymph nodesand chills. It also causes a rash that looks like pimples or blisters, which can appear on the face, in the mouth, the anus, genitalsandother parts of the body.

The disease is rarely lethal, butcan cause discomfort.

Everybody who has requested a vaccine here in Provincetown has been provided with an appointment, Jorgensensaid.

The medical facilityhas additional vaccines available, if needed, but Jorgensen declined to say how many.

Outer Cape Health Services is one of 15 sites identified by the state as a vaccine center. People looking for a vaccine can call the medical facility at 508-905-2888. Appointments can also be made by visiting the Provincetown center at 49 Harry Kemp Way.

There have been 21,504confirmed monkeypox cases reported in the United States, 347in Massachusetts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Sept. 8.

The state Department of Public Health only issues statewide totals on monkeypox cases, unlike town-specific case totals that are released weekly for COVID-19.

More: Is Provincetown safe to visit? Here's the latest on COVID cases, and answers to questions about monkeypox

Outer Cape Health Services has tested a few dozen people for monkeypox, said Jorgensen.

It hasnt been widespread," he said. "Its been limited to a few individuals who even had the possibility of having monkeypox.

And the numbers keep dropping.

Its been several weeks since weve seen any positive cases here in Provincetown, he said.

For anyone who is worried they may have contracted monkeypox, Jorgensen has this advice: contact your healthcare provider to discuss it.

Monkeypox can initially look like COVID, where individuals have a fever and muscle aches, he said.

If youre not feeling well, stay home, Jorgensen said.

If you have monkeypox, it will be fever, malaise, fatigue and within four or five days youll have a rash, he continued. Just stay home.

Jorgensen believes Provincetowns rapid response to monkeypox, and its public education campaign may have helped keep the case numbers low.

The state Department of Public Health on May 18confirmed in a public announcement the firstcase of monkeypox virus infection in Massachusetts in an adult manwhohad recently traveled to Canada.

More: Monkeypox ishitting the gay community the hardest, state official says

The outbreak is part of an international outbreaktraced tothe United Kingdom, Kevin Cranston,the state's public healthdepartment assistant commissioner and director of the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences, said at the forum June 28, hosted on by the town of Provincetown.

Monkeypox is hitting thegay community the hardest, especially gay and bisexual men, Cranston said at the forum.However, he emphasizedthatall people are equally at risk of contracting it.

Even though there are more cases amongst gay and bisexual men, there is no such thing as a gay disease, he said.

Avoid blaming people for their identity. The virus is to blame, Cranstonsaid.

Provincetown is a hub for LGBTQvisitors during the summer.

More: What's the Provincetown real estate market? Here's what sold last week in Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet and Provincetown

The disease is spread through skin-to-skincontact, but can also be spread through extensive face-to-face, respiratory contact, though that form is transmissionis less likely.

A person needs to be symptomaticto be contagious, he said. Thatcan include flu-like symptoms and the emergence of skin changes, such as lesions and sores.

Without a doubt, public health education and outreach, coupled with the availability of vaccines earlier than almost every other community helped keep our community safe, Town Manager Alex Morse said.

Beginning at the end of June, the Provincetown health department disseminated nearly 3,000 postcards with QR codes directing people to the towns monkeypox webpage. The postcards went to restaurants, bars and lodgings.

Any way you can convey information to people who need it, you have to take those steps, said Provincetown Health Agent Lezli Rowell. We wanted to give people a quick and simple tool to get information. Everyones walking around with a cell phone and weve all become accustomed to using QR codes.

The town also hosted thepublic forum about monkeypox on June 28.

That was an awesome way to reach a lot of people and reach a lot of people quickly, Rowell said. We had expert voices sharing information that wasnt alarmist, but was real, candid and specific to our situation.

More: Provincetown sewer emergency: Here's how to apply for financial help to repair damages

Provincetown received vaccine doses earlier than many communities. Gerald Desautels, senior development and communications officer at Outer Cape Health Services, said there are two reasons for that.

First, Provincetown did a good job distributing COVID-19vaccines and boosters, ultimately having one of the highest vaccination rates in the state, Desautels said.

Outer Cape Health Services operates nonprofit community health centers in Harwich Port, Wellfleet and Provincetown, treating more than 20,000 people annually, according to the agency's website.

Second,the monkeypox vaccine from the state became available right before the busy July and August summer season in Provincetownand the Provincetown demographic closely matched those most at risk for contracting monkeypox in the community of men who have sex with men, Desautels said.

"We were a logical early choice to get shots in arms, he said.

Staff writer Mary Ann Bragg contributed to this story.

For more information, visit the monkeypox information page provided by the town of Provincetownat https://www.provincetown-ma.gov/1420/Monkeypox-Information.

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Monkeypox in Provincetown: here's an update - Wicked Local

New research has suggested that recommended vaccinia virus (VACV)-based vaccines will mount a robust immune response against the monkeypox virus observed in the current outbreak (MPXV-2022).

Since the new virus was first observed in early May 2022, over 52,000 cases have been confirmed in more than 90 countries, including Australia, where 124 cases have been diagnosed (confirmed and probable).

The study, co-led by University of Melbourne Professor Matthew McKay, ARC Future Fellow and Honorary Professor at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, and Professor Ahmed Abdul Quadeer, Research Assistant Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, was published in the international journalViruses.

Weeks after the new strain emerged, the teamundertook genomic research to find out if the genetic mutations observed in MPXV-2022 may affect vaccine-induced immune responses against monkeypox.

Specific VACV-based vaccines have demonstrated high efficacy against monkeypox viruses in the past and are considered an important outbreak control measure, Professor McKay said.

However, given this is a novel monkeypox virus, we still lack scientific data on how well human immune responses triggered by VACV-based vaccines will recognise MPXV-2022 and provide protection against disease.

Using genomic and immunological data, the team evaluated the genetic similaritiesanddifferences between VACV and MPXV-2022, specifically within the protein regions that are targeted by vaccine-induced neutralising antibodies or T cells.

While we identified a small number of distinct mutations in MPXV-2022, our study more broadly demonstrates that VACV and MPXV-2022 are highly genetically similar in the regions targeted by the immune system through vaccination, Professor McKay said.

Professor Quadeer said that the findings are reassuring.

Based on our analysis, we anticipate that the immune responses generated by VACV-based vaccines would continue to do a good job of recognising and responding to MPXV-2022, as was the case for monkeypox viruses in the past. Our data lends further support to the use of vaccines being recommended globally for combating MPXV-2022, Professor Quadeer said.

Professor McKay said: While bringing together sequencing and immunological data provides evidence to anticipate a strong immune response, clinical studies are required to determine the exact efficacy of these vaccines against MPXV-2022.

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Monkeypox Vaccine Expected To Induce Strong Immune Response - Technology Networks

NEW YORK (AP) U.S. officials are considering broadening recommendations for who gets vaccinated against monkeypox, possibly to include many men with HIV or those recently diagnosed with other sexually transmitted diseases.

Driving the discussion is a study released Thursday showing that a higher-than-expected share of monkeypox infections are in people with other sexually transmitted infections.

READ MORE: What are monkeypox symptoms? Heres what you need to know

Dr. John T. Brooks, chief medical officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions monkeypox outbreak response, said the report represents a call to action.

Brooks told The Associated Press on Thursday that he expected vaccine recommendations to expand and that the White House, together with CDC, are working on a plan for what that will look like.

Currently, the CDC recommends the vaccine to people who are a close contact of someone who has monkeypox; people who know a sexual partner was diagnosed in the past two weeks; and gay or bisexual men who had multiple sexual partners in the last two weeks in an area with known virus spread.

Shots are also recommended for health care workers at high risk of exposure.

The vast majority of monkeypox cases are in men who have sex with men who reported close contact with an infected person during sex. But the new CDC report suggested infections in people with HIV and other STDs may be a bigger issue than previously realized.

The report looked at about 2,000 monkeypox cases from four states and four cities from mid-May to late July.

It found 38% of those with monkeypox infections had been diagnosed with HIV, far higher than their share of the population among men who have sex with men.

The study also found that 41% of monkeypox patients had been diagnosed with an STD in the preceding year. And about 10% of those patients had been diagnosed with three or more different STDs in the prior year.

READ MORE: The COVID lessons the U.S. still needs to learn to tackle monkeypox

There were racial differences. More than 60% of Black Americans with monkeypox had HIV, compared with 41% of Hispanic people, 28% of whites and 22% of Asians.

Jason Farley, an infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, said men of color who have sex with men should be at the front of the line for monkeypox vaccine doses. Within those racial and ethnic groups, the next priority should be anyone living with HIV or was recently diagnosed with a STD, he said.

The study has several limitations, including that the data may not be nationally representative, the authors said.

Brooks said the findings could lead to vaccines being recommended for people with recent STD infections, people with HIV, people taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications to prevent HIV infection and, possibly, sex workers.

Discussions of expanding eligibility will have to take into account supply of the two-dose vaccine. And any substantial expansion of monkeypox vaccination recommendations may also be subject to review by CDCs outside vaccine advisers, health officials say.

Also on Thursday, the CDC sent a letter to state and local health departments that said federal funds for HIV and STD prevention can also now be used against monkeypox. Cases in the U.S. seem to be declining, officials say.

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U.S. health officials consider expanding monkeypox vaccine eligibility - PBS NewsHour

PTI

Melbourne, September 9

The recommended vaccinia virus (VACV)-based vaccines will mount a robust immune response against the monkeypox virus observed in the current outbreak, according to a study.

Vaccinia virus is a large, complex, enveloped virus belonging to the poxvirus family.

Since the new virus was first observed in early May, over 52,000 cases have been confirmed in more than 90 countries and regions, the researchers said.

The team undertook genomic research to find out if the genetic mutations observed in monkeypox virus observed in the current outbreak (MPXV-2022) may affect vaccine-induced immune responses against the disease.

"Specific VACV-based vaccines have demonstrated high efficacy against monkeypox viruses in the past and are considered an important outbreak control measure," said Matthew McKay, from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

"However, given this is a novel monkeypox virus, we still lack scientific data on how well human immune responses triggered by VACV-based vaccines will recognise MPXV-2022 and provide protection against the disease," McKay said.

The study, published recently in the journal Viruses, evaluated the genetic similarities and differences between VACV and MPXV-2022, specifically within the protein regions that are targeted by vaccine-induced neutralising antibodies or T cells.

"While we identified a small number of distinct mutations in MPXV-2022, our study more broadly demonstrates that VACV and MPXV-2022 are highly genetically similar in the regions targeted by the immune system through vaccination," McKay explained.

"Based on our analysis, we anticipate that the immune responses generated by VACV-based vaccines would continue to do a good job of recognising and responding to MPXV-2022, as was the case for monkeypox viruses in the past," said Professor Ahmed Abdul Quadeer, from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

"Our data lends further support to the use of vaccines being recommended globally for combating MPXV-2022, Quadeer said.

The World Health Organisation has recommended primary preventive vaccination against the new monkeypox virus, which is also known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, for individuals at high risk of exposure.

"While bringing together sequencing and immunological data provides evidence to anticipate a strong immune response, clinical studies are required to determine the exact efficacy of these vaccines against MPXV-2022," McKay added.

#monkeypox

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Monkeypox vaccine expected to induce strong immune response: Study - The Tribune India

A health care worker administers a dose of the JYNNEOS Monkeypox vaccine at a pop-up vaccination clinic in Los Angeles, California, on August 9, 2022.

Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images

Los Angeles health officials are investigating the death of a person who had monkeypox.

Dr. Rita Singhal, director of disease control in Los Angeles County, said it's not clear what role monkeypox may have played in the person's death. Officials do not have additional details at this time, Singhal said.

"This is one of two deaths in the United States that are currently under investigation to determine whether monkeypox was a contributing cause of death," Singhal told reporters during a press conference Thursday.

Health officials in Texas last month reported the death of an adult in the Houston area who was diagnosed with monkeypox. The individual had a severely compromised immune system, according to health officials.

Monkeypox is rarely fatal, but people with weak immune systems are at higher risk of severe disease. The virus causes a painful rash that resembles blisters or pimples.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a report published Thursday, found that 38% of 2,000 patients diagnosed with monkeypox from May to July were HIV positive. People who have monkeypox and HIV were hospitalized more often than those who did not have HIV, according to the study.

Read CNBC's latest global health coverage:

The U.S. is trying to contain the largest monkeypox outbreak in the world, with more than 21,000 cases across all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, according to the CDC.

Nine monkeypox deaths have been confirmed worldwide since the outbreak began, according to CDC data. Deaths have occurred in Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, the Central African Republic, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Nigeria and Spain.

More than 56,000 monkeypox cases have been reported across 96 countries since the outbreak began, according to CDC data.

Monkeypox is primarily found to be spreading during sex among gay and bisexual men, though anyone can get monkeypox through close contact with someone who is infected or via contaminated materials like towels and bedsheets.

Federal health officials said this week that the outbreak appears to be slowing as vaccines, testing and treatments have become more widely available. Demetre Daskalakis, deputy head of the White House monkeypox response team, said it took 25 days for cases to double in August compared to eight days in July.

The U.S. has administered more than 460,000 monkeypox vaccine doses to date. About 1.6 million gay and bisexual men who have HIV or who are taking medication to reduce their risk of contracting HIV face the highest risk from monkeypox, according to CDC.

The monkeypox vaccine, Jynneos, is administered in two doses 28 days apart. CDC officials say it's crucial for people at risk to receive the second shot. It takes two weeks after the second dose for the immune system to reach its peak response.

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Los Angeles health officials are investigating the death of a person who had monkeypox - CNBC

The monkeypox outbreak is disproportionately affecting those who identify as LGBTQ+, which is why as vaccines roll out, so are the vaccine marketing plans.

COLUMBUS, Ohio The monkeypox outbreak is disproportionately affecting those who identify as LGBTQ+. Thats why as vaccines roll out, so are the vaccine marketing plans.

Healthcare providers are trying to reach those at risk without damaging public perception. Its a fine line to walk, largely because the audience is a community that has been in a similar situation before.

Doctors from Equitas Health joined 150 organizations around the country in August, demanding a more culturally humble and urgent response from the government to monkeypox.

Yes, the mortality rate is low, but we're still having an unprecedented number of cases, said Dr. Rhea Debussy, who leads public policy efforts for Equitas Health. The way public health issues emerge, [it] is not something that is uncommon for one population to be disproportionately affected and then for it to become an issue for a much larger population."

This virus opens a painful wound for the LGBTQ+ community with similarities to the HIV epidemic in the 1980s when a mysterious virus was claiming lives and dignity.

Along with a death sentence, stigma defined what it meant to have HIV or AIDS, said Dr. Ronald Bayer of Columbia University.

Bayer's research focuses on social justice related to AIDS. He studies why, for 15 years, no effective treatments were available.

With monkeypox, a vaccine is available. But the challenge is reaching those who are at-risk without implying the community it most affects is unclean, vulnerable or promiscuous.

Theres a huge component of making sure you're being intentional with your marketing efforts and making sure you're communicating that something like monkeypox is not something that can only affect men who have sex with men or trans, non-binary gender-expansive folks. But based on the data we have now, that is who is being disproportionately affected, at this time, Debussy said.

Dr. Shane Jeffers with Mount Carmel Medical Group said he simply tries to arm his patients with information.

I had an 80-year-old woman ask me about getting that vaccine here recently. People don't know how it's spread. It's mostly through close contact, mostly sexual. It takes a lot of friction to really spread monkeypox. So you're not going to pick it up on the cart at the grocery store like a lot of people think, Jeffers said.

Jeffers said that those who are eligible should make an appointment and get the vaccine as soon as possible.

To learn more about how Equitas is responding to the outbreak, head over to the Equitas website. For more information about the vaccine, head over to the Columbus Public Health website.

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How to battle monkeypox spread and stigma - 10TV