State: more monkeypox vaccines are on the way

State: more monkeypox vaccines are on the way

FILE - A man holds a sign urging increased access to the monkeypox vaccine during a protest in San Francisco, July 18, 2022. California's governor on Monday, Aug. 1, 2022, declared a state of emergency to speed efforts to combat the monkeypox outbreak, becoming the second state in three days to take the step. (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)

East Farmingdale, NY- New York State health officials said Tuesday that more monkeypox vaccines are on the way.

Governor Kathy Hochul said the third installment of the JYNNEOS vaccine from the federal government “will help us reach and protect more people, and we will continue to work around the clock to secure more vaccines, expand testing capacity, responsibly educate the public, and protect those most at-risk.”

The criteria to qualify for a monkeypox vaccine in New York State is very specific. According to a press release from the governors office anyone wanting a JYNNEOS vaccine must meet the following criteria:

  • Individuals with recent exposure to monkeypox within the past 14 days.
  • Those at high risk of a recent exposure to monkeypox, including members of the gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender non-conforming community and other communities of men who have sex with men and who have engaged in intimate or skin-to-skin contact with others in the past 14 days areas where monkeypox is spreading.
  • Individuals who have had skin-to-skin contact with someone in a social network experiencing monkeypox activity, including men who have sex with men who meet partners through an online website, digital application (“app”), or social event, such as a bar or party.

The majority of the vaccine dosages are still heading for vaccination clinics in New York City, with additional dosages slotted for Suffolk and Nassau Counties. Read more about the break down of vaccine allotment, here.

A group of senators, including New York State Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, have asked President Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act of 1950 to ramp up vaccine production for the monkeypox vaccine, read more about it, here.

Photo: (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)

By Brett Levine