US is offering vaccines to certain people exposed to monkeypox. Here’s what you
Vaccines for monkeypox are now available to some health care workers treating infected people.
“I’m happy to report, even with the first case in Boston at Massachusetts General Hospital, our colleagues across the government have been able to get vaccines to that hospital. And just yesterday they’ve already started offering the vaccines to health care workers who have been exposed,” Dr. Raj Panjabi, who leads the White House’s monkeypox response, told CNN’s Laura Coates on Monday night.
“The first part is to identify those who are infected and to isolate them and make sure that they get the care they need,” Panjabi said. “The second part is to ensure we vaccinate those who’ve been exposed to the infected individuals. If we do that again and again — and that’s our approach at the White House and across the government — then we have a better chance of ending this outbreak.”
A senior Biden administration official said Tuesday that, in general, small clusters of people who have been exposed to a monkeypox patient with symptoms could be offered vaccination — but this is not a mass vaccination effort.
In the United States, the Jynneos vaccine, given as two doses four weeks apart, is licensed to prevent smallpox and monkeypox in adults.
“Because monkeypox virus is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox, the smallpox vaccine can protect people from getting monkeypox,” the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website says. “Smallpox and monkeypox vaccines are effective at protecting people against monkeypox when given before exposure to monkeypox. Experts also believe that vaccination after a monkeypox exposure may help prevent the disease or make it less severe.”
Scientists have known for years that smallpox vaccines can be effective in preventing monkeypox, too. The variola virus that causes smallpox and the monkeypox virus belong to the same family.
“The viruses come from the same family of viruses, and what we’ve seen in prior monkeypox outbreaks is that vaccinating contacts does abort infection or attenuate infection in those individuals with monkeypox,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
But don’t expect a large-scale rollout of vaccines.
“I think that we will need to use vaccinations in contacts of cases. This isn’t something where everybody lines up and gets vaccinated,” Adalja said of the current outbreak. “That’s going to be critical to stopping cases.”
What vaccines could work against monkeypox?
The senior administration official said Tuesday that there’s sufficient vaccine to cover the United States’ current level of cases.
“Right now, we have over 1,000 doses of [Jynneos] available, and we expect that level to ramp up very quickly in the coming weeks as the company provides more doses to us,” Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology within the CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, said Monday.
The CDC estimates that the vaccine is at least 85% effective in preventing monkeypox, based on data from Africa.
Another vaccine, called ACAM2000, is licensed in the United States to prevent smallpox. Although the vaccine could be used to prevent monkeypox, it is not licensed for that.
The United States has more than 100 million doses of ACAM2000, McQuiston said.
“ACAM2000 is an older-generation smallpox vaccine that has some potential significant side effects with it,” she said. “So a decision to use that widely would have to have some serious discussion behind it.”
ACAM2000 is a live virus vaccine — and once the shot is given, a lesion will develop at that site. Because the virus grows at the site of the lesion, it can spread to other parts of the body or even to other people, according to the CDC, which is why people who get ACAM2000 “must take precautions” to prevent the spread.
In comparison, the Jynneos vaccine is given as a live virus that is non-replicating. That means there is no visible “take” and, as a result, no risk of viral spread, according to the CDC. Some common vaccine side effects include pain at the injection site, muscle pain, headache or fatigue.
Who should get vaccinated against monkeypox?
Most people won’t be vaccinated against monkeypox. It’s based on direct exposure.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee and Immunization Practices voted last year to recommend vaccination for select groups at risk for monkeypox and other related viruses due to their occupations. That could include research lab personnel and health care workers, for instance, who treat infected people.
Amid the global outbreak, World Health Organization officials plan to make recommendations on who should be prioritized to receive a smallpox vaccination to lower their risk of monkeypox.
“We will be making recommendations on who should be prioritized for this,” Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonoses lead and…
Read More: US is offering vaccines to certain people exposed to monkeypox. Here’s what you