Fractional Dosing Increases Monkeypox Vaccinations

To help resolve the shortage of monkeypox vaccines in the USA, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) confirmed that 768,273 vials of Bavarian Nordic's Jynneos vaccines had been shipped by August 24, 2022.

And since the U.S. FDA recently authorized the emergency use of an alternative dosing approach that allows health care providers to use the vaccine from one vial of JYNNEOS vaccine to protect up to five adults when administered intradermally, there are more Jynneos doses available.

As of August 26, 2022, about 75% of jurisdictions are already applying intradermal administration of the Jynneos vaccine.  

The U.S. CDC director Dr. Rochells Walensky commented in the press briefing, 'While we are encouraged by the scale-up, there are many people eligible for second doses, and very few of the doses administered so far are recorded as second doses.'

'I'd like to take this moment to emphasize that this is a two-dose vaccine, and it is important to receive the second dose in the series.'

'I encourage providers to continue highlighting the importance of the second dose so that all vaccinated people optimize their protection'.... which is about ten days following the second dose.

Moreover, this U.S. FDA-licensed smallpox and monkeypox prevention vaccine is free to U.S. jurisdictions to support their outbreak response efforts.

The figures on this ASPR webpage are for vials of Jynneos allocated, ordered, and delivered and reflected amounts made available before and after the FDA issued authorization allowing for intradermal vaccination.

As a result, the number of doses available and/or administered will vary depending on when jurisdictions received the Jynneos vaccine and how it was administered to a patient. 

Additionally, the U.S. government announced it is launching a pilot program to provide additional vaccine allocations to state and local health departments in jurisdictions hosting significant events that attract gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in the coming weeks and months.

The pilot program sets aside 50,000 Jynneos doses empowering jurisdictions to order on top of their existing allocations and supply. 

As of August 28, 2022, about 50,842 monkeypox cases had been reported internationally, with 17,432 confirmed by the CDC on August 26, 2022.

Additional monkeypox and smallpox vaccine news are posted at PrecisionVaccinations.com/Monkeypox.

Note: The government's information was manually curated for mobile readership.