By Jacqueline Howard; CNN
As global health leaders investigate an unusual outbreak of monkeypox across more than a dozen countries, discussions in the United States have turned to vaccination against the disease -- and certain people exposed to the virus could be offered a vaccine.
Vaccines for monkeypox are now available to some health care workers treating infected people.
"I'm happy to report, even with the first case in Boston at Massachusetts General Hospital, our colleagues across the government have been able to get vaccines to that hospital. And just yesterday they've already started offering the vaccines to health care workers who have been exposed," Dr. Raj Panjabi, who leads the White House's monkeypox response, told CNN's Laura Coates on Monday night.
"The first part is to identify those who are infected and to isolate them and make sure that they get the care they need," Panjabi said. "The second part is to ensure we vaccinate those who've been exposed to the infected individuals. If we do that again and again -- and that's our approach at the White House and across the government -- then we have a better chance of ending this outbreak."
A senior Biden administration official said Tuesday that, in general, small clusters of people who have been exposed to a monkeypox patient with symptoms could be offered vaccination -- but this is not a mass vaccination effort.
In the United States, the Jynneos vaccine, given as two doses four weeks apart, is licensed to prevent smallpox and monkeypox in adults.
"Because monkeypox virus is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox, the smallpox vaccine can protect people from getting monkeypox," the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website says. "Smallpox and monkeypox vaccines are effective at protecting people against monkeypox when given before exposure to monkeypox. Experts also believe that vaccination after a monkeypox exposure may help prevent the disease or make it less severe.
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