With the number of monkeypox outbreak cases surging at the end of the summer, the increase in reported infections now appears to be climaxing amid increasing public messaging and access to a vaccine, and the health crisis in the United States. Officials are being urged to expand their strategy with new equity – a fundamental effort to fight the disease.
The number of reported cases has reached 18,417 in the United States, according to most data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, but the number of additional cases is down from a high at the start of the month, making vaccines more readily available. As they are able, the disease spreads.
This figure suggests that a significant number of gay and bisexual men, as well as other men who have sex with men, limit contact with casual sex partners, driving the monkeypox epidemic. This is consistent with a new study that found that A report from the CDC last week found that while limiting one-time sexual contact can significantly reduce transmission of the monkeypox virus, about half of men who have sex with men have one night. We are reducing sexual activity, including stands and apps. Hookup.
With monkeypox on the decline, the Biden administration has launched new initiatives aimed at ensuring that vaccine distribution is consistent with equity values, including those based on geographic, racial, and ethnic lineage. Announced. A total of 10,000 doses of vaccines from the federal supply will be funded by equitable interventions, such as outreach to Black and Latinx communities who are disproportionately affected by this disease and epidemic, using 50% of the allocated supply. are assigned to regions that support effective interventions. Specific events and celebrations for LGBTQ people, health officials announced Tuesday.
Demetre Daskalakis, the face of the Biden administration’s LGBTQ outreach against monkeypox and deputy coordinator of the White House’s monkeypox task force, revealed details of the new equity-based supplemental initiative during a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. made it
“In other words, an equity intervention is an intervention in your state, county, or city to reach out to people we may not be reaching out to, especially people of color and LGBTQI+. “It’s something that works,” Daskalakis said. “What that means is that we can work with specific groups or venues to reach the right people for monkeypox prevention. These innovations Once these strategies are reviewed by the CDC, a vaccine will be provided to reinvigorate these ideas and accelerate their reach into the community.”
Additional equity-based approaches to monkeypox vaccine distribution will distribute additional shots to areas hosting large events for LGTBQ people later in the summer, such as Atlanta’s Black Pride and Southern Decadence. Consistent with the efforts of the Biden administration in recent weeks. at New Orleans.
Louisiana Gov. John Bell Edwards said on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday that the Biden administration will release an additional 6,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine in time for Southern Decadence, which runs from the last week of August through Labor Day. I appreciated that you made it available. weekend.
“This is an example of federal, state and local partnerships and community providers. I think it’s a very solid example,” said Belle Edwards. “New Orleans public health workers are great, but they’re also community providers.”
In addition to providing more vaccines, health officials in the Biden administration will send a multidisciplinary team to New Orleans to help the state organize, prepare, test and vaccinate, according to Belle Edwards. Assisting in setting the location of people at risk. “
But on a conference call, a reporter for the New Orleans Advocate asked a poignant question about the recent vaccine distribution to New Orleans ahead of the Southern Decadence. Most people won’t even get his second dose by then, so how will Southern his decadence protect them, especially when the vaccine takes time to take full effect? can you think?
While pushing for a stock-based approach to vaccine distribution, Daskalakis said the Biden administration “doesn’t mean the first shot of the monkeypox vaccine is protected against an event.” Very clearly,” he said.
“I will talk to them about many other strategies that can reduce their risk of contracting monkeypox, but I will also make it clear that that vaccination is not for today. Maximum protection is achieved after two weeks,” Daskalakis said.
First reported death of a monkeypox patient
Despite the rising number of cases, monkeypox remains a concern, as does the potential danger of the disease. Case in point: The death of a Texas hospital patient who had monkeypox but may have had to succumb to other factors has drawn attention within the conventional understanding that skin diseases are not fatal. This case is the first symptomatic death of a monkeypox patient in the United States.
The patient, an adult resident of Harris County, was “severely immunocompromised,” as confirmed by the Texas Department of Health on Tuesday, state health officials said monkeypox played a role in the death. said it was investigating to determine .
Jenny McKiston, a CDC representative who specializes in studying zoological diseases that spread from animals to humans, said in response to questions about the victims, health officials also assess the deaths and the role monkeypox played. said.
“I think it’s important to emphasize that although monkeypox deaths are possible, they’re still very rare,” said Maxkiston. “Most of the time, people experience infections that resolve over time.” And the number of deaths recorded globally is very low: Of the more than 40,000 cases worldwide, only a handful of deaths have been reported.”
Despite a surge in cases, many medical experts are unconvinced by the new approach to vaccines announced by the Biden administration earlier this month. The new vaccine approach requires injecting the JYNNEOS vaccine from a subcutaneous route (delivering the vaccine under the fat layer under the skin) to an intradermal route (delivering the vaccine to the skin layer just below the top layer).
About 75% of jurisdictions have already adopted the new approach to vaccination, and another 20% are “fully We are working towards an operational intradermal method.”
“We continue to focus our lasers on doing everything within our power to help jurisdictions and clinicians acquire weapons,” Fenton said. “More and more jurisdictions are adopting intradermal administration.”
Critics say data for this new intradermal approach are insufficient to support the idea that it is as effective as subcutaneous injections. The manufacturer of the JYNNEOS vaccine in Bavaria Nordic has privately threatened to stop supplying the shot based on conversations with health officials about objections that the vaccine is not approved for intradermal use.
Responding to a question about whether U.S. health officials are gathering newly available real-world information on the outcome of new vaccine approaches, McQuiston said that U.S. health officials continue to receive data on monkeypox and that other states are also incorporating information soon.
“The CDC operates a system called VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System), which actively investigates various types of events that may be reported after vaccination,” McQuiston said. increase. “And we’re actively collecting information from various jurisdictions, states and cities about what vaccines they’re administering, whether subcutaneously or intradermally, and we’re collecting these data right now. .”
