Monkeypox Vaccine Doses, The state has also expanded eligibility to anyone at risk of infection. Learn about where to find shots, how many doses are available and how to stay safe.
New York City announced a new stage in the fight against the spread of monkeypox on Wednesday: Expanded eligibility and the adoption of a pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, prevention model. Monkeypox Vaccine Doses, The new guidelines will open up vaccine appointments to a broader group people, including anyone who has had multiple or anonymous sex partners, or who otherwise believes they may be at risk of contracting the virus through sex or intimate contact; people who know or believe they may have been exposed to the virus; and anyone whose sex partners are eligible for the vaccine under the guidelines. Just over 3,600 people in the city had tested positive for the monkeypox virus as of Oct. 2, most of them adult men who have sex with men. As of Oct. 5, over 130,000 first and second doses of the vaccine had been administered, according to the city health department. The supply of vaccine has increased, in part because of a new method of giving the shots that allows providers to get multiple doses out of each vial. As a result, city officials announced earlier this month that second doses of the two-dose Jynneos vaccine, which had been held back because of supply concerns, would now be available, Monkeypox Vaccine Doses, The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced that at 4 p.m. on Oct. 6, an additional 30,000 vaccine appointment slots would open up. People who received their first dose are advised to get their second doses 28 days after their first shot. Second dose appointments can be made on the city’s vaccine website. All patients will receive the Jynneos vaccine, which has been administered since June. Most shots will be given using a new method approved by the federal government. Under this new method, known as intradermal dosing, health care providers inject a small amount of vaccine into a patient’s skin, instead of into the fat beneath the skin.
Intradermal dosing allows the government to stretch its meager vaccine supply and provide more vaccinations, by getting four or five doses out of each vial of vaccine, instead of just one. More than 95,000 vaccine doses have already been administered in New York City. In the current epidemic, monkeypox has spread mainly through close physical contact with an infected person, particularly through sexual contact. Most of the people affected so far have been in social networks of men who have sex with men. Monkeypox Vaccine Doses, The virus causes rashes and pustules to form, as well as flulike symptoms. The main mode of transmission is direct physical contact with the sores, but the virus can also spread through contaminated objects, such as bedsheets and clothing, and via respiratory droplets. Researchers have found the virus in bodily fluids like saliva, urine and semen, but there is still debate over whether monkeypox is transmitted through semen. Scientists agree, however, that condoms do not protect completely against transmission. Anyone at risk of becoming infected is now eligible for the vaccine, according to the latest guidance from the State Health Department. That includes people who were exposed to someone who may have tested positive for monkeypox within the last 14 days. That also includes adult men who have sex with men, and transgender, gender nonconforming or nonbinary adults who have had multiple or anonymous sex partners in the last 14 days. Close contacts of infected people are also eligible. Sex workers are eligible for vaccines, regardless of gender identity. Also eligible are those who have sex for transactional reasons, such as for food, shelter or money. No proof of eligibility is required you simply have to attest that you are eligible when making an appointment on the website. Eligible people who have a condition that weakens their immune systems, such as H.I.V., are particularly encouraged to get the vaccine. People who have been infected with the monkeypox virus are not eligible for vaccination.
Source: This news is originally published by nytimes