DC shifts monkeypox vaccine policy to focus on first dose

DC staff managed 5,629 The dose of Jynneos, the only vaccine specifically approved to prevent monkeypox, was stated in an interview Monday by Patrick Ashley, senior deputy director of the DC Ministry of Health, as of Sunday.Two doses of regimen will be provided at least Every 28 days.

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“Rather than controlling the dose, we can vaccinate more people and contain it faster,” he said.

Other jurisdictions, such as Newyork and San Francisco, the United Kingdom and Canada, have already shifted to prioritizing first doses as authorities compete to protect endangered communities.

The White House’s coronavirus coordinator, Ashish Jar, was asked about the strategy at a press conference on Friday. “We encourage people to go ahead and use up all doses as the first dose,” Jha said, as more doses will be distributed.

In another briefing on Monday, Jha said the Food and Drug Administration was “quickly working to finalize the approval of nearly 800,000 additional doses, and jurisdiction over these doses after the FDA finally approved them. We are preparing to ship to. ” He added that he hopes additional doses will be available “in the next few days.”

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As of Monday, 172 cases of monkeypox were reported in the district, with the highest number of cases per capita in any state. Monkeypox was most affected by men in their early thirties who had sex with men, but DC Health Director La Quandra Nesbitt emphasizes that the virus can infect anyone.

Positive cases in DC include children under the age of 1 who are diagnosed in the district but are resident in the United Kingdom traveling with their families. According to Ashley, the family has traveled extensively in the United States and abroad to investigate how their children were infected with monkeypox. The child has never been hospitalized and will stay in the district until the quarantine is complete.

On Saturday, DC Health will invite an additional 5,000 people at risk to make free vaccine reservations and will continue to send invitations as long as supplies are available. According to Ashley, the area has received about 13,938 doses.

Federal officials have not stated how many times the district and state will be vaccinated with the next cargo, but Ashley says that if the district is vaccinated adequately, some people will be vaccinated a second time on time. Said to receive.

“It’s part of the challenge. We want as many vaccines as possible, but we want to get this out as soon as possible. Timing is very important. The sooner we can weaponize it, the faster. It can contain this. “

According to Ashley, DC public health officials provide as much protection as a single dose of ACAM2000, another vaccine that cannot be used by people with a weakened immune system, for more than six months. We reviewed studies that show that it does.

Health officials will notify those who have already taken the first dose that the appointment for the second dose has been temporarily postponed and will reschedule the appointment later — With the exception of immunodeficiency, where the second shot is not delayed.

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Monkeypox has also been found elsewhere in the area.Virginia Authority report As of Monday, there were 72 cases, and a map of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 71 cases in Maryland. However, public health officials emphasize that not all people with symptoms are tested, so more people are infected than the data show.

World Health Organization on Saturday declaration International monkeypox may create public health emergencies of international concern and make more money available to fight the virus. As of Friday, 74 countries reported about 1,700 monkeypox cases.

Ashley warned people to monitor themselves and their sexual partners for abnormal skin conditions and continued to encourage them to contact their health care provider if they found any abnormalities.

DC residents can pre-register for a free vaccination appointment at. PreventMonkeypox.dc.gov..

Lena H. Sun contributed to this report.