CDPHE hosting a monkeypox vaccine clinic for high-risk groups

Denver-To prevent further spread of the virus in Colorado, state health officials are hosting a monkeypox vaccine clinic this week.

A 300 dose of FDA-approved JYNNEOS vaccine from the Federal Strategic National Stocks will be administered in the Denver Metro area between Tuesday, Friday and Saturday to help prevent further spread of the monkeypox virus. Said Environment (CDPHE) in a news release on Friday.

The vaccine will be available to gay, bisexual, and men identified as other men having sex with men who have multiple or anonymous sex partners (MSM) within the last 14 days. People who believe they have been in close contact with people who have had monkeypox in the last 14 days are also eligible for the vaccine, according to CDPHE officials.

Reservations for monkeypox vaccines on Fridays and Saturdays are available on a first-come, first-served basis and can be made online by anyone interested in the vaccine. Please fill out this form, This includes a symptom screening process that allows Coloradans to self-certify their eligibility. Qualified individuals will receive a follow-up confirmation email to schedule a vaccine appointment.

According to CDPHE, those who cannot go to the vaccination clinic but may have been exposed and want a vaccine should contact their health care provider as soon as possible.

Scott Bookman, head of CDPHE’s disease management and public health response department, said last week that the state expects demand to outpace supply, and in a prepared statement, the federal government is now in the state’s population. And assign doses of JYNNEOS vaccine according to the prevalence of monkeypox.

As of Tuesday, seven viruses have been reported so far in Colorado. According to the latest data From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Recent outbreaks suggest that there is an increased risk of monkeypox among men who have sex with men, but anyone who has long-term close contact with an infected person can become infected. I have. Health experts emphasize.

For example, the majority of US cases occurred after people were exposed through close contact through droplet infections, according to Dr. Jennifer McKistton, Deputy Director of the CDC’s Department of High-Result Pathogens and Pathology.

Biden administration distributes hundreds of thousands of vaccines in the summer

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced last Tuesday that 296,000 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine will be shipped nationwide in the coming weeks, 56,000 of which will be readily available to people at highest risk of the disease. More 240,000 will continue in the coming weeks.

HHS officials said in a phone call with reporters that they expect an additional 750,000 doses in the summer and an additional 500,000 doses in the fall. According to ABC News..

The strategic shift was made by the World Health Organization (WHO) Monkeypox Emergency Committee. Expected to be reconvened After the outbreak of monkeypox on June 25, the disease is now first declared to affect more than 50 non-endemic countries. Did not constitute a public health emergency of international concern..

CDC in the United States Expanded recommendations on who will be vaccinated against monkeypox This is because it is difficult to identify all contacts from an infected person in the current outbreak. Until last week, the CDC advised vaccination only to those identified as close contacts in the case through contact tracing.

What you need to know about monkeypox

Monkeypox, which is endemic in parts of western and central Africa, is caused by viral infections of the same family as smallpox, causing similar (but less severe) illnesses. According to Harvard Health..

Symptoms include fever, headache, myalgia, malaise, lower back pain, swollen lymph nodes, and chills, followed by a rash that usually begins on the face and spreads to other parts of the body, such as the genital area and anus. increase.

The incubation period for monkeypox is usually 1 week to 14 days, but according to the CDC, symptoms can appear in 5 to 21 days.

In humans, the virus can spread through infectious rashes of infected persons, direct contact with scabs, large respiratory droplets during prolonged face-to-face contact, and close contact during fluid exchange such as kissing. there is. Or sex. Another less common way the virus can spread is through contaminated clothing and linen. Monkeypox can spread from the onset of symptoms until the rash has completely healed and a fresh layer of skin is formed.

CDC Currently under investigation Whether the disease can spread asymptomatically, such as SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Health officials are also investigating whether the virus may be present in semen, vaginal fluid, and feces.

Complications of this disease include pneumonia, loss of vision due to an eye infection, and sepsis, a life-threatening infection. Health officials say the case fatality rate of strains currently spreading around the world is about 1%.

As of Tuesday, 460 cases of monkeypox confirmed in the United States And more than 6,600 cases In the world..

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