On Tuesday, White House officials announced that they would prioritize the most endangered people and the communities with the most cases. The US Department of Health and Human Services will immediately send 56,000 doses of Jynneos vaccine to the areas with the highest infection rates.
Over the next four weeks, 240,000 more doses will be given, with more in the summer and fall.
Authorities hope that 1.6 million doses will be distributed by the end of the fall.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics, the states with the highest infection rates are California, New York, Illinois, and Florida, in addition to Washington, DC.
The CDC prioritizes first vaccine access for people in close contact, including sexual contact with people infected with the virus.
The vaccine is also available to men who have sex with other men who have reported multiple sexual partners at venues or parties where the virus is known to be widespread.
The majority of confirmed monkeypox cases occur among men who have sex with other men in the United States and around the world.
At a press conference on Tuesday, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky confirmed that the vaccine is available to anyone known to be exposed to the virus.
She states: “We recommend that you provide the vaccine to both public health people who are known to be exposed to monkeypox and those who have recently been exposed to monkeypox.”
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But in contrast, David Harvey, Managing Director of the National Union of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, claimed that the United States had already “lost control” of the outbreak with a disastrous warning.
He states: “We have already lost control of this outbreak.
“We believe there are more cases and we need to act now to control this outbreak.”
Monkeypox was first detected in Massachusetts, USA, but according to the CDC, there are 306 cases in 28 states and it is widespread nationwide.