The plan, announced on Tuesday, involves rapidly expanding access to doses of Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine -which has so far been limited – to prevent monkeypox in areas with the highest transmission and need.
The Biden administration will allocate 296 000 doses of Jynneos from a national stockpile to states and territories in the coming weeks, with 56 000 allocated immediately and 1.6 million doses made available over the coming months, officials said. Although the virus is endemic in parts of Africa, the current outbreak has hit countries where the virus does not usually spread, sparking concern that it could become more widespread.
Previously, health officials have been focused on offering the vaccine to individuals with direct contact with a person who has had a confirmed case of monkeypox.