Key Takeaways:
- In the coming days, states will get more than 100,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine, and several million more will be ordered in the coming months.
- The virus is mainly transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, but it can also be caught by handling linens contaminated by a monkeypox patient.
According to U.S. health officials, more than 100,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine will be delivered to states in the next few days, and several million more will be ordered in the coming months.
They admitted that the demand for vaccines in cities like New York, California, and elsewhere had outpaced the availability of vaccines.
As the government works to contain an unexpected global outbreak responsible for hundreds of new cases being reported daily, officials forecast that the number of cases will continue to increase for at least a few additional weeks.
Some public health professionals are starting to worry that the outbreak may become so extensive that monkeypox would establish itself as a sexually transmitted illness.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, stated that “all of our work right now is to control that from happening.”
In some regions of Africa, where rats and other tiny animals attack people, monkeypox is endemic. Typically, it doesn’t spread quickly among people.
However, more than 12,000 instances in nations that typically don’t encounter the sickness this year have been reported. Health experts have emphasized that anyone can contract the virus, although the infections started in males who had sex with men at gatherings in Europe.
More than 1,800 cases in the United States have been documented as of Friday, and daily additions of hundreds of cases are increasing the total. According to the CDC, most of them are men, and most have same-sex relations.
The case counts, according to experts, are understated.
Because it can take three weeks from the moment of infection until symptoms manifest and a diagnosis is made, Walensky predicted that the number of cases would increase at least through August.
The virus primarily spreads via skin-to-skin contact, but it can also be contracted by handling linens soiled by a monkeypox victim.
Symptoms of monkeypox include fever, body pains, chills, and exhaustion. Many people affected by the outbreak have grown pimples on their bodies that resemble zits.
No one has passed away, and many guys have had mild cases of the sickness. According to Dr. Mary Foote, medical director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response at the New York City Health Department, some people may find the lesions “exquisitely painful.” However, there is a possibility that they will scar.
Only approximately 2,000 vials of a new, two-dose monkeypox vaccination were available to U.S. authorities when the outbreak was initially discovered in May.
Vaccination facilities in several cities have been overrun by demand due to officials’ recommendations that the shots be administered to persons who know or suspect they were exposed to monkeypox in the previous two weeks.
As of Thursday, the government had delivered 156,000 pills around the country, including 100,000 this week. According to Dawn O’Connell of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, it also anticipates beginning to administer 131,000 additional doses by Monday.
800,000 doses are currently in Denmark and will shortly arrive in the United States. Additionally, the government placed orders for 5 million additional doses this month, although the majority of those aren’t organized to arrive until next year.
The government will monitor how well the Jynneos vaccine, which has never been extensively employed in response to an outbreak like this, is functioning, according to Walensky.
Source: Global News
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