Monkeypox Vaccine: CDC Claims Efficacy; Vaccinated People Less Likely to Contract the Virus

The United States health officials recently announced that at-risk individuals who were given a single dose of the monkeypox vaccine in US initiatives against the virus seemed substantially less likely to get sick even as a second dose has been pushed for full protection.

As specified in an NBC News report, it was the first look health officials "have offered into how the Junneos vaccine is impacting monkeypox, a virus that is mainly spread among male individuals having sexual intercourse with infected males.

According to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, the said new data "offers witty a level of cautious optimism" that the vaccine works as intended.

Bob Fenton, the White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinator, said roughly 800,000 first and second doses of the Monkeypox vaccine had been given to people at high risk for becoming infected with the virus.

Efficacy of the Jynneos Vaccine Against Monkeypox

At present, there are no scientifically conclusive data available that prove the effectiveness of the Jynneos vaccine against monkeypox.

However, the new real-world figures of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal those unvaccinated men, between 18 and 49 years of age, who were considered eligible to get the vaccine, were 14 times as likely to become infected with monkeypox as the people who had received one dose at least two weeks earlier. Data came from over 30 states for cases between end-July and early September.

Still, according to Walensky, lab studies reveal the highest immunity level from the virus is reached after people are given a second dose of the Monkeypox vaccine, calling it "really important."

The US suffered from early problems in its response, with the officials struggling to deliver the vaccine after detecting the first case in May.

Second Dose Recommended

As some cities and counties attempted to stretch the limited supply this summer, they ceased offering the recommended second dose of the vaccine.

Now public health officials are trying to catch up, reminding the public to get to their second dose of vaccine. Around 150,000-second doses had been administered as of mid-September.

Commenting on the recommendation, Walensky said they are asking providers to do outreach for people to get vaccinated the second time.

Vaccine Eligibility

Public health officials also announced changes this week to who is eligible for the vaccine and how they can be vaccinated.

The new CDC guidance is developed to reach more people who might be at risk for exposure to monkeypox. More so, the said guidance makes gays, bisexual men, and transgender people who have engaged in more than one sexual partner in the last six months eligible for the vaccine.

It also allows the vaccine to be administered on the upper back or shoulder so inoculation can be covered with clothing.

Essentially, the number of new cases of monkeypox virus has dropped in recent weeks, although there are signs of worsening racial differences, a related Associated Press report specified, with black people, making up approximately 47 percent of new cases reported as of early September.

Related information about the monkeypox vaccine is shown on KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Monkeypox in Science Times.