CDC will make monkeypox vaccine available at LGBT events
Health officials are trying to move all vaccines to intradermal dosing as in a strategy to stretch supply.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky
Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The federal government will have monkeypox vaccines available at LGBT, Pride and other events, the White House Monkeypox Response Team and federal officials said today.
At special events, 50,000 doses will be available. But because these are two-dose vaccines, individuals will be responsible for getting their second dose after the event. The vaccine is most effective two weeks after the second dose, officials said.
Health officials are looking at making all these vaccinations intradermal as part of a new strategy to stretch the supply of the Jynneos vaccine. Intradermally works as well as subcutaneous, they said. The strategy will allow providers to immunize five people with a vial designed for a single shot.
The smaller dose is given underneath the skin, rather than into the deeper layer of fatty tissue.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The Biden administration is ramping up its monkeypox response by making an additional 1.8 million doses of the Jynneos vaccine available to states.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also looking to get 50,000 patient courses of the TPOXX vaccine, which is used to treat smallpox.
There are currently 13,500 cases of monkeypox reported in the United States, with most of the cases among men who have reported having sex with other men.
THE LARGER TREND
On Wednesday CDC Director Rochelle Walensky announced a shakeup at the agency, saying it fell short in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Associated Press.
In April, she called for an in-depth review of the agency, which resulted in the announced changes. Her reorganization proposal must be approved by the Department of Health and Human Services secretary. CDC officials say they hope to have a full package of changes finalized, approved and underway by early next year, according to the AP report.
"This will not be simply moving boxes" on the organization chart, she reportedly said.
It's a CDC initiative, and was not directed by the White House or other administration officials, she said.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org
