 |
| Photo Credit: AP. |
WASHINGTON (AP) — At-risk people who received a single dose of the monkeypox vaccine in U.S. efforts against the virus appeared to be significantly less likely to get sick, public health officials announced Wednesday, even as they urged a second dose for full protection.
It was the
first look public health officials have offered into how the Jynneos vaccine is
affecting monkeypox, a virus that is primarily spread among men who have sex
with infected men.
“These new
data provide us with a level of cautious optimism that the vaccine is working
as intended,” Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, said Wednesday.
Roughly
800,000 first and second doses of the vaccine have been administered across the
country to people who are considered high risk for becoming infected with the
virus, White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinator Bob Fenton said.
There is no
scientifically conclusive data available to prove effectiveness of the Jynneos
vaccine against monkeypox.
But the
CDC’s new real-world figures show that unvaccinated men, between the ages 18
and 49 who were considered eligible for the vaccine, were 14 times as likely to
become infected with monkeypox as those who had one dose at least two weeks
earlier. The data came from 32 states for cases between July 31 through Sept. 3.
Still,
Walensky said, lab studies show the highest level of immunity from the virus is
reached after people get a second dose of the vaccine, calling it “really
important.”
The U.S.
leads the world in monkeypox cases. So far more than 25,000 infections of the
virus, which can cause rash, fever, body aches and chills, have been reported.
The country
suffered from early problems in its response, with U.S. officials struggling to
distribute the vaccine after the first case was detected in May. As some cities
and counties tried to stretch the limited supply this summer they stopped
offering the recommended second dose of the shot.
Now, public
health officials are trying to catch up, reminding people to get their second
dose. About 150,000 second doses had been administered as of Sept. 17,
according to CDC.
“We’re
really asking providers to do outreach to get people their second doses,”
Walensky said.
Public
health officials also announced changes Wednesday to who is eligible for the vaccine
and how they can get it.
The new CDC
guidance is intended to reach more people who might be at risk for monkeypox
exposure. The guidance makes gay, bisexual men and transgender people who have
had more than one sexual partner in the past six months eligible for the
vaccine. It also allows the vaccine to be administered on the shoulder or upper
back so marks from the shot can be covered with clothing.
The number
of new monkeypox cases has declined in recent weeks, but there are signs of
worsening racial disparities, with Black people making up roughly 47 percent of
new cases reported the week of Sept. 11.