The Biden administration promised Friday that it stands ready to provide additional vaccines to jurisdictions that have used more than 85% of their monkeypox vaccine vials as part of the federal government’s plan to control the ongoing national monkeypox outbreak.
Health officials also highlighted new data that they said shows the Americans most at-risk of monkeypox infection are taking precautions to avoid the disease, evidence that federal messaging is taking root.
The White House announced that, as of Friday, 75% of jurisdictions are already applying intradermal vaccinations — a method that allows providers to stretch their supply to provide about five doses per vial of the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine. As such, it is believed that nearly all 1.6 million Americans at highest risk for the disease will soon be able to have two doses of the vaccine.
“Our work is far from over, but this is a step in the right direction as we continue to fight the spread of the virus,” Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Dawn O’Connell said in a press briefing.
O’Connell announced that, by the end of the next phase of vaccine distribution, the federal government will have distributed enough to provide 3 million doses. The White House also announced that it will also attempt strategies that bring vaccines to people, rather than simply helping them find the vaccine.
Since the Food and Drug Administration issued emergency authorization for intradermal monkeypox vaccinations, the federal government has shipped 188,000 vials of the vaccine around the country — about 940,000 doses worth of vaccine.
Monkeypox is a virus with symptoms similar to — but less severe than — smallpox, including a telltale rash, fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, and fatigue, according to the CDC.
The disease is especially transmissible from close contact with infected skin lesions, recently-contaminated objects (like bedding) and prolonged respiratory contact. As of Aug. 25, nearly 17,000 cases of monkeypox have been identified across the United States, part of more than 46,700 cases globally.
The vaccine strategy has largely focused on high-risk populations, especially among men who have sex with other men, and the epidemiology has borne out that reasoning: 94% of cases have been associated with sexual activity, and nearly all cases have been seen in men who have sex with other men, according to Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the White House’s National Monkeypox Response Deputy Coordinator.
As such, the CDC has sought to provide plain and direct language regarding how monkeypox is transmitted and what people can do to avoid exposure.
“The queer community has been central in developing, adapting and amplifying these messages as the outbreak has unfolded,” Daskalakis said. And the messaging has had an impact: Around 50% of men surveyed by the CDC reported having reduced their number of sexual partners, reduced one-time sexual encounters, and avoided spaces associated with increased monkeypox risk.
“What this means is that the LGBTQAI+ people are doing things that are actually reducing their risk, and it’s working,” Daskalakis said. “And it speaks to the resilience and commitment of this community to addressing the challenge of monkeypox.”
What might not be working is messaging among minority groups. According to that survey, Black and Hispanic men are among the minority of those who have gotten vaccine, yet they are "increasingly and disproportionately" representing new cases, said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.
Globally, and within the United States, the outbreak is turning a corner and trending downward — but the White House remains on guard, Walensky said. “Week over week, our numbers are still increasing — the rate of rise is lower, but we are still seeing increases,” she said. “We’re watching this with cautious optimism, and really hopeful that many of our harm-reduction messages and vaccines are getting out there and working.”