There ’ s Already a Monkeypox Vaccine. But Not Everyone May Need It

Case counts of monkeypox continue to grow worldwide, raising concerns about how people can protect themselves. So far, the World Health Organization reports that in 12 countries, 92 cases have been confirmed in this recent emergence of the virus, and 28 possible cases are still being investigated. What alarms public health officials about the recent outbreaks is that monkeypox is generally not common or known to circulate in these nations; it’s endemic in parts of central and western Africa, but not in the European and North American nations—including the U.S.—that are currently seeing an uptick in infections. The U.S. recorded its first case this year in Massachusetts on May 18, and officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a briefing on May 23 that the agency is working with state health departments in New York, Florida, and Utah to investigate four additional potential cases. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The good news is that an approved, effective, and relatively new monkeypox vaccine already exists. But do Americans need to get vaccinated? The monkeypox vaccine Made by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic and named Jynneos, the vaccine uses a live version of the smallpox virus that has been engineered so that it cannot replicate in the body or cause infection, but can still activate the immune system to mount defenses against both the smallpox and monkeypox viruses to protect people from getting infec...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Public Health Source Type: news