According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the United States has more than 36,000 doses of Jynneos monkeypox vaccine right in the strategic national stockpile.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending the vaccine to people at high risk of exposure to the virus in an effort to prevent further spread. The United States has identified 25 confirmed or presumptive cases of monkeypox across 12 states as of Friday.
America told Bavarian Nordic, a Danish biotech company, will ship an additional 36,000 doses of Jynneos in the near future, an HHS spokesperson said. A spokesperson for Bavarian Nordic has more than 1 million doses in its possession in the US and could supply an additional 16.4 million at the request of the federal government.
The global outbreak of monkeypox is the largest ever outbreak outside of Africa. Nearly 800 confirmed cases of monkeypox across 27 countries have been reported to the World Health Organization. Most of the cases are in Europe, especially in Portugal, Spain and the UK.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Jynneos for adults 18 years of age and older at high risk for smallpox or monkeypox in 2019. The two-dose vaccine is the only approved shot. to specifically prevent monkeypox. However, the US also has more than 100 million doses of the older generation smallpox vaccine ACAM2000, the spokesman said. ACAM2000 is manufactured by Outstanding biological solution
Raj Panjabi, the head of the White House’s office of pandemic preparedness, said in a call with reporters on Friday, the United States had distributed 1,200 doses of Jynneos and ACAM2000 to people at risk of exposure. highly infected with monkeypox.
Although ACAM2000 was approved by the FDA in 2007 to prevent smallpox, the vaccine can also be used to protect against smallpox in monkeys under a CDC program. Monkeypox is in the same family of viruses as smallpox, although the disease is much milder.
The United States is also distributing an oral antiviral called tecovirimat that can be used to treat people infected with monkeypox, Panjabi said. Tecovirimat was the first pill approved by the FDA in 2018 to treat smallpox, although it can also be used against smallpox in monkeys under the CDC program.
The CDC generally recommends Jynneos instead of ACAM2000, which can have serious side effects. ACAM2000 uses a mild strain of the virus that lives in the same family as monkeypox and smallpox that can still be spread in humans and other people. The vaccine is given as a single dose when the arm is scratched, and the virus develops into a local infection in the form of a blister.
Patients can spread the virus to other parts of their body if they scratch the blister and then rub their eyes, potentially damaging vision. The virus can also spread to other members of the patient’s family, which can be dangerous if a family member has a weakened immune system or is pregnant or breastfeeding. The FDA has warned that it is important for people receiving ACAM2000 to take proper care of the injection site so as not to spread the virus.
There are also many groups of people who should not take ACAM2000 according to CDC guidelines due to the risk of side effects. These include women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, people with weakened immune systems, people with skin conditions, and people with heart conditions.
In pregnant women, the virus strain from the vaccine can be transmitted to the fetus and cause stillbirth. People with weakened immune systems face the risk that the virus will spread uncontrollably, which can cause dangerous infections. People with skin conditions such as eczema or atopic dermatitis are also at risk for the virus to spread on their skin and cause life-threatening infections. ACAM2000 is also associated with an increased risk of inflammation of the heart, known as myocarditis and pericarditis.
The Jynneos vaccine has fewer side effects because the vaccine uses a mild strain of the virus, which is not able to replicate in the human body, so it cannot spread.
According to Mark Slifka, an immunologist at Oregon Health and Science University, ACAM2000 has demonstrated a high degree of protection against smallpox in animal models and is expected to provide protection 85% protection against disease from the virus, similar to previous versions of the smallpox vaccine. Not much is known about Jynneos’ effectiveness because of the newer vaccine, but it makes good antibodies in people and may protect against severe illness, according to Slifka.
The global outbreak of monkeypox has raised concern among public health officials because the virus’s ability to spread widely beyond West and Central Africa is unusual. Historically, the virus has spread from rodents to people in remote villages in Africa. However, the virus now appears to be spreading better between people through close physical contact, according to Slifka.
WHO officials last week said the virus may have been spreading outside Africa undetected for some time, though it was unclear how long.
According to the WHO, most cases to date have been attributed to gay and bisexual men who have developed the system and sought care in sexual health clinics. Health officials have emphasized that anyone can contract monkeypox from close physical contact. However, they say it is important to raise awareness of the situation in the LGBTQ community so that individuals can protect their health.
Jennifer McQuiston, a CDC official, told reporters last week that most of the US patients had a history of international travel in the 21 days before the onset of symptoms, which suggests they may have contracted the virus abroad. While the CDC doesn’t believe monkeypox is spreading widely in the United States right now, health professionals cannot rule out the possibility that it is being transmitted domestically, McQuiston said.
Most people with smallpox recover within two to four weeks without specific medical treatment, McQuiston said, although the rash that characterizes the disease can be very painful. The health threat to the public is currently low, she said.
Monkeypox usually begins with flu-like symptoms and a rash then begins to spread throughout the body. The virus is mainly transmitted by skin-to-skin contact with these rashes. People can also catch monkeypox through shared bed linen or clothing. People with sores in the throat or mouth can also spread the virus through respiratory droplets, although the disease is not easily transmitted this way, according to the CDC.
According to the CDC, people with confirmed or suspected monkeypox infection should isolate at home until further notice by the state or local health department. People with monkeypox should be isolated only after the rash has scabbed and peeled off and new skin has formed.
