Monkeypox vaccines won’t be coming to CT — yet
The federal government expands access to the monkeypox vaccine amid an increase in cases, but Connecticut will not initially be receiving any doses, the state Department of Public Health said Thursday.
The lack of vaccine dosages locally was “based on the number of monkeypox cases and the at risk population in each state,” DPH spokesman Chris Boyle said.
“The Connecticut Department of Public Health was notified Wednesday afternoon by CDC that Connecticut will not be receiving an initial allocation of Jynneos doses as a part of the first phase of the recently released whole of government National Monkeypox Vaccination Strategy to reduce transmission,” Boyle said Thursday. “Instead, DPH can request doses for the vaccination of identified close contacts of cases.”
“This is a rapidly changing situation and additional allocations are expected in the coming weeks,” Boyle said.
There have been no identified cases of monkeypox in Connecticut, though there have been cases in neighboring states.
Of 351 cases identified so far in the United States, 72 are in New York state, according to data maintained by the CDC. Of those 72, at least four are in Westchester County, according to local news reports.
There have also been 15 cases in Massachusetts, four in New Jersey and one in Rhode Island.
“The vaccine strategy will help immediately address the spread of the virus by providing vaccines across the country to individuals at high risk,” the White House said in a release. “This phase of the strategy aims to rapidly deploy vaccines in the most affected communities and mitigate the spread of the disease.”
Paulo Verardi, a University of Connecticut virologist specializing in pox viruses, said the virus could “burn itself out,” which he said is “very possible, even though the numbers are increasing.”
Monkeypox is related to smallpox, which is one of only a few diseases that have effectively been eradicated. The difference is that smallpox, unlike monkeypox, only affects humans.
A 2003 monkeypox outbreak began not with monkeys but pet rodents, including door mice and prairie dogs, ultimately spreading to 71 humans in the United States.
“At the time, our major concern was that the prairie dogs, that the virus was going to get established in nature, because once the virus gets established in nature, then you have the potential for new outbreaks occurring all the time,” Verardi said.
This outbreak has not yet been seen in animals, so the concern is that humans will transmit the virus to animals, offering a chance for it to create a viral reservoir.
There are two known strains of monkeypox. The strain currently spreading has a 1 percent death rate. The other strain, which is endemic in Africa, has a 17 percent death rate, Verardi said.
The current outbreak is somewhat atypical in that the lesions caused by the virus are showing up primarily in the area of genitals and anus, which Verardi hypothesized may be aiding transmission.
The disease is primarily spread by skin-to-skin contact, and the CDC said “early data suggest that gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men make up a high number of cases.”
The virus is not, however, a sexually transmitted disease and Verardi said if the outbreak continues we can expect it to infect other populations as well.
“The types of people that are most susceptible are the ones that are very young, and those who have an underdeveloped immune system, so young children and anybody that's immunosuppressed,” he said.
Though Connecticut is not part of the initial vaccine deployment phase, Boyle said patients who believe they have been in contact with someone infected can access a pre-exposure prophylactic dose through their healthcare provider.
“Anyone who was in close contact with a confirmed case should see their medical provider for next steps,” he said. Connecticut continues to have access to Monkeypox vaccine by request from CDC for individuals who have known exposures to monkeypox in concordance with CDC guidance.”