The United States, which expects an increase in monkeypox cases in the coming weeks, does not currently have enough vaccine doses to meet demand, a senior health official admitted on Friday (July 15th). public.
An “extremely limited” supply
"
I want to acknowledge that right now the demand for vaccines from the territories is higher than our available supply, and we know that's frustrating
," said Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the nation's primary federal public health agency.
“
We do not yet have all the vaccines that we would like to have
”, she added during a press conference, saying to expect “
an increase in cases in the coming weeks
”.
Concern is growing in particular in New York, epicenter of the American epidemic, with nearly 390 cases detected as of July 14.
The United States has a total of 1,470 cases.
This week, the New York health services had to apologize after numerous failures on the vaccine reservation website, stormed when a thousand appointments were made available.
"
The supply of vaccines is extremely limited (...) across the country, and especially here in New York
," the director of the city's health department, Ashwin Vasan, said Thursday.
Prioritize affected regions
At the start of the epidemic in the United States, at the beginning of May, the authorities had only 2000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine (Imvanex in Europe), the only one approved specifically against monkeypox.
Since then, 156,000 doses have been distributed in the country.
Just over 130,000 have just been added to the national strategic reserve, and should start being delivered from Monday.
They will no longer be allocated to the various American states in an equitable manner, but by giving priority to the most affected regions.
“
I expect there to be a lot more supplies for New York City
” in this new salvo, wanted to reassure Rochelle Walensky.
Read alsoMonkeypox: why are cases of monkeypox counted as we did for cases of Covid-19?
This vaccine, in two doses, is currently recommended for those who have been or may have been in contact with infected people.
The disease currently circulates mainly among the homosexual population, the vast majority of cases being men who have sex with other men.
It is characterized by rashes – which can appear on the genitals or in the mouth – and can be accompanied by fever, sore throat or pain in the lymph nodes.
It usually heals spontaneously but can be very painful.
SEE ALSO -
Monkey pox: France extends vaccination to the most exposed categories