WHO: Monkeypox is not an emergency 0:56
(CNN) --
The US government announced Tuesday a strategy to beef up its response to the monkeypox outbreak, detailing plans to offer more vaccines and more testing to people most at risk of contracting it, including men who have sex with men and their partners.
The move comes after pressure from states on the federal government to release more doses of monkeypox vaccine from the Strategic National Stockpile that is managed by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. Humans.
Critics have also charged that the United States was not offering enough tests to monitor the spread of the virus, which is believed to be more widespread than the current case count suggests.
The new plan addresses both.
It will bring more vaccines to areas with the highest case rates and expand testing, making it available at five commercial labs in addition to an existing network of public health labs.
Silent spread of monkeypox may be a wake-up call for the world
On Tuesday, the Health Department also activated the CDC's Emergency Operations Center, to give the agency more flexibility and manpower to manage the national response to monkeypox.
The new plan will allocate vaccine doses based on case rates in a state, targeting men who have sex with men and their known partners, as well as anyone who thinks they might have recently been exposed to the virus as an anonymous partner. .
“If you are among those who have had a known exposure or in a group that is at increased risk of exposure in the past two weeks, here is what we would like you to know,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle. Walensky.
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"Post-exposure vaccination, or the use of vaccines for post-exposure prophylaxis, is intended to reduce the risk of becoming infected with monkeypox virus and then becoming ill. Vaccination should occur within two weeks of possible exposure, and the sooner you can get vaccinated after exposure, the better," Walensky said.
So far in the US, 306 cases of monkeypox have been identified in 28 jurisdictions.
Globally, more than 4,700 cases have been reported in 49 countries, he said.
Currently, 10 states would be considered to be in the first priority level in ordering vaccines.
The plan comes in the midst of Gay Pride month, a month packed with parties celebrating sexual and gender diversity, and a season that many in public health services worry will fuel the spread of the monkeypox virus. , which is spread by close contact, including sexual intercourse.
Dr. Walensky said that currently the only people who can be vaccinated against monkeypox are those with a known exposure.
Given the large number of contacts and the difficulty in identifying all contacts during the current outbreak, the new strategy will recommend vaccinations for those with a known exposure who are contacted by public health services, as well as those who have recently been exposed. , but were not identified through contact tracing.
This includes those who have had close physical contact with someone diagnosed with monkeypox, those who know their sexual partner has been diagnosed with monkeypox, and men who have sex with men who have recently had multiple sexual partners in a place where knew there was monkeypox or in an area where monkeypox is spreading.
The vaccination plan may require the US to use two different types of vaccines.
The monkeypox outbreak is not the same as that of covid-19.
This is the reason
The first is a newer, more modern vaccine called Jynneos, made by a Danish company called Bavarian Nordic.
It was evaluated and developed to treat monkeypox infection.
The United States currently has 64,000 doses of this vaccine in reserve.
The government will make 56,000 of those doses available to states in phase one of the rollout.
The United States has ordered more doses of this vaccine, and the government plans to make 1.25 million more doses of the Jynneos vaccine available through the summer and fall, the administration said.
There are 300,000 doses that were held by the manufacturer that are currently on the way.
The problem is that the US doesn't have enough doses of Jynneos to vaccinate everyone who wants it, so public health authorities are also considering whether to use a second, older type of vaccine called ACAM.
The ACAM vaccine was developed to treat smallpox.
It is administered by using a double-pronged needle that is repeatedly dipped into the vaccine and used to prick the skin on the upper arm, causing a small sore or "sting" to form.
"It's very old-school technology that basically I don't know of any doctors who really know how to do that. So it's actually very difficult to implement because you have to train people on a new vaccine methodology." said Dr. Jay Varma, a professor and director of the Cornell Center for Pandemic Prevention and Response in New York City.
The other complication is that the ACAM vaccine uses a live but weakened version of a virus to inoculate a person.
"It is presumed that it is not safe for use in people with HIV," Varma said.
The main risk group for monkeypox (men who have sex with men) also have high rates of HIV infection.
On Tuesday, Dr. Walensky said that as more Jynneos vaccines arrive in the US, the country will adjust its strategy to include more people.
"As soon as we have more vaccines available, we will of course continue to expand from a post-exposure prophylaxis strategy, ideally to a pre-exposure prophylaxis strategy," Walensky said.
On Tuesday, public health experts said the expansion would be significant.
"It is critical that we get the vaccine to the at-risk population and address vaccine use as much as we have with pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV," said Dr. Michael Osterholm, who directs the Center for Research and Infectious Disease Policies at the University of Minnesota.
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