By Dennis Romero
An Illinois daycare worker infected with monkeypox exposed children in his care to the virus, prompting an exemption to allow minors to receive the vaccine, health officials said Friday.
The incident occurred in Rontoul, a town in Champaign County, central Illinois.
The number of children possibly exposed is unclear, but authorities said no other people associated with the center have tested positive.
State health director Sameer Vohra said contracting the virus requires close, personal and sometimes prolonged contact.
“Monkeypox virus is not airborne,” he
clarified.
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Although the vaccine is not usually available for children, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is allowing vaccination of those under 18 years of age in cases where they may have been exposed, Vohra said.
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"That means anyone with their guardian's approval will be vaccinated today," he added, referring to possibly exposed children in daycare.
The current monkeypox vaccine, Jynneos, is licensed in the United States for use only in adults.
However, the vaccine can be given to children ages 6 months to 17 years in special circumstances that include possible exposure, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Contact tracing was underway to determine who in recent days might have been close to the worker who tested positive, state officials said.
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“Anyone with even the slightest suspicion will be placed in isolation pending the results”
of monkeypox tests, said Julie Pryde, administrator of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District.
On Thursday, the Biden administration declared monkeypox a public health emergency, a move that frees up more funding for testing, treatment, education and research.
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According to federal health officials, all but 1% of monkeypox cases in the United States are in people who were assigned male at birth.
The World Health Organization has warned men who have sex with men to reduce the number of partners they may meet and to reconsider contact with new ones.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 26,200 cases of monkeypox have been recorded.
The CDC says that as of Friday there were 7,102 cases in the United States.