Monkeypox: US struggles to meet demand for vaccines

by

The United States struggles to meet the demand for vaccines

Nearly 156,000 doses have been distributed throughout the country, which adds up to a total of 1,470 cases and foresees an increase in infections in the coming weeks.

Concern is growing particularly in New York, the epicenter of the US epidemic, with nearly 390 cases of monkeypox detected on July 14. (illustrative photo)

Concern is growing particularly in New York, the epicenter of the US epidemic, with almost 390 cases of monkeypox detected on July 14. (illustrative photo)

KEYSTONE/CYNTHIA S. GOLDSMITH, RUSSELL REGNER/CDC VIA AP

The United States, which is expecting a spike in monkeypox cases in the coming weeks, does not currently have enough vaccine doses to meet demand, a senior public health official acknowledged Friday.

“I want to acknowledge that right now the territories’ demand for vaccines is greater than our available supply, and we know that’s frustrating,” said Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the main federal agency in the country. public health agency.

Concern in New York

“We still do not have all the vaccines that we would like to have,” he added during a press conference, and said to expect “an increase in cases in the coming weeks.”

Concern is growing in particular in New York, the epicenter of the US epidemic, with almost 390 cases detected as of July 14. The United States has a total of 1,470 cases.

This week, New York’s health services had to apologize after numerous glitches on the vaccine booking website, which crashed when a thousand appointments were available. “Vaccine supply is extremely limited … across the country, and especially here in New York,” the city’s health department director, Ashwin Vasan, said Thursday.

Jynneos Vaccine

At the beginning of the epidemic in the United States, at the beginning of May, the authorities only had 2,000 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 begin to be delivered from Monday. They will no longer be assigned to the different American states in an equitable manner, but rather giving priority to the most affected regions.

two doses

“I hope there are many more supplies for the city of New York” in this new barrage, he wanted to reassure Rochelle Walensky.

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, with the vast majority of cases being men who have sex with men.

It is characterized by rashes – which can appear on the genitals or in the mouth – and may be accompanied by fever, sore throat or sore lymph nodes. It usually heals on its own, but can be very painful.

AFP

Leave a Comment