Texas receives shipment of 14,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine

Monday, July 25, 2022

What to know after monkeypox case confirmed in US

The U.S. confirmed its first case of monkeypox. Here's what you need to know about the rare virus and its symptoms.

The Texas Department of State Health Services announced on Saturday that they received a shipment of 14,780 doses of the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine.

The video featured above is from a previous report.

According to Houston Health Department, Houston and Harris County have received a separate shipment of approximately 5,000 doses from the SNS on Friday.

DSHS said it forwarded 5,120 doses to Dallas County Health and Human Services. Dallas County has reported the largest number of confirmed monkeypox cases in Texas.

As of July 25, there are 83 confirmed monkeypox cases in Dallas County, according to Dallas County Health and Human Services.

Officials said the remainder of the state doses will be provided to local health departments and DSHS regional offices to vaccinate people with a documented or presumed exposure to the monkeypox virus.

The shipment reportedly represents all the JYNNEOS vaccines available now to Texas from the federal Strategic National Stockpile.

The JYNNEOS vaccine remains in limited supply, and additional vaccine is not expected to be available until late August or early September, so public health will continue to prioritize people at the highest risk for monkeypox.

Vaccinating people who have been exposed to the virus will help protect them and keep them from spreading the disease to others.

A dose of vaccine can prevent the disease from occurring if given soon after a person is exposed, ideally within four days.

If given five to 14 days after exposure, vaccination may reduce the symptoms but may not prevent the disease entirely. People need two doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine to be fully vaccinated.

Health officials said that most monkeypox cases in Texas have been transmitted through direct skin-to-skin contact with the monkeypox rash of an infected person.

DSHS said the illness is largely circulating among men who have sex with men, though there have been cases outside this population.

The department announced Houston's first confirmed case of monkeypox on June 18. The case count gradually rose over the following weeks and currently totals 36, none of which have led to hospitalizations, officials said.

Symptoms include a rash or sores, that look like pimples or blisters, fever, headache, weakness, chills, and swollen lymph nodes.

Monkeypox can spread through prolonged face-to-face contact, intimate contact, and or close contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids. Contact with items such as clothing or linens that previously touched the rash or body fluids is another way the disease can spread, officials said.

The illness usually lasts two to four weeks and can spread from the time symptoms start until the rash fully heals, and a fresh layer of skin has formed, HHD said.

People who suspect they have monkeypox symptoms, such as new unexplained rash or sores, can contact their doctor to set up a screening appointment.

Monkeypox can be very painful, but it is rarely life-threatening. There have been no reported deaths in this outbreak in the United States, and hospitalizations in Texas have been for pain management.

To learn more, visit the Texas of Department Safety's website or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website.

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