BOSTON — The state of Massachusetts is limiting access to the monkeypox vaccine to one dose, due to the “extremely limited national availability of vaccine.”
Because access to the JYNNEOS vaccine remains so limited, the Department of Public Health has told health care providers not to schedule appointments for a second dose of the vaccine, until more doses become available. The new guidance went into effect on Monday.
“To ensure the maximum number of individuals eligible for monkeypox vaccine receive some protection, Massachusetts is moving to a first dose prioritization strategy,” according to DPH. “This means that, although the vaccine is approved as a two-dose series, we are recommending that providers limit vaccine administration to a first dose, a strategy in line with a growing number of other jurisdictions across the country.”
“All Massachusetts providers have been sent Clinical and Laboratory Testing Guidance for Monkeypox regarding this first dose prioritization strategy, indicating that as of August 8th, second dose appointments that are already scheduled will be honored and not cancelled, but that no new second dose appointments will be scheduled until additional vaccine is available.”
State health officials say scientific evidence indicates that a single dose of JYNNEOS “provides substantial, rapid protection from monkeypox infection. A second dose given weeks to months after the primary dose will still result in boosting and provide long-term immunity.”
Second doses will still be made available to those with moderate to severe immune compromise.
Health officials say Massachusetts has received several shipments of the vaccine from the CDC since July 5 but additional supplies are not expected to be available until the fall.
157 total cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in Massachusetts since the first case was announced on May 18th.
DPH provides weekly updates on the number of cases on Thursdays. Last week, 42 new cases of monkeypox were reported in adult males.
The state has expanded the number of health care providers and locations offering vaccination across the state to 14. The updated list is on the state’s monkeypox vaccine website. As of August 3, 5,875 doses of JYNNEOS vaccine had been administered in the the state.
“Gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men continue to make up a significant proportion of the cases identified to date,” according to DPH. “However, the risk is not limited to the LGBTQ+ community, and anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has monkeypox is at risk.”
Monkeypox can spread through:
- Direct skin-to-skin contact with rash lesions. Sexual/intimate contact, including kissing while a person is infected.
- Living in a house and sharing a bed with someone. Sharing towels or unwashed clothing.
- Respiratory secretions through face-to-face interactions (the type that mainly happen when living with someone or caring for someone who has monkeypox)
Monkeypox does not spread through:
- Casual conversations. Walking by someone with monkeypox in a grocery store, for instance. Touching items like doorknobs.
Early symptoms of monkeypox can include fever, headache, sore throat, and swollen lymph nodes, but rash may be the first symptom, according to state health officials.
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