Vaccines for the monkeypox virus should be prioritized for men who have se-x with men, according to experts.
Monkeypox, a virus originally passed to humans from animals, now has over 15,000 confirmed cases worldwide across 71 countries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Earlier cases have been associated with gay and bise-xual men—with many U.S. cases being linked to a single event. While anyone of any se-xuality can contract the disease, as it is transmitted via skin-to-skin or skin-to-clothing contact, the initial influx of cases in the LGBTQ+ community has meant that men who have se-x with men are currently most at risk of the virus.
Vaccines for monkeypox have recently been made available in the U.S. As of July 19, over 190,000 doses of the JYNNEOS smallpox and monkeypox vaccine had been distributed from the Strategic National Stockpile to aid in local vaccination efforts nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
There aren't enough doses to vaccinate everyone, meaning that those most at risk need to be prioritized. From July 20, the vaccine will be available in Los Angeles for "gay men, bise-xual men, men having se-x with men, and transgender persons who were diagnosed with gonorrhea or early syphilis within the past 12 months; or are on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP); or attended or worked at a commercial *** venue or other venue where they had anonymous se-x or se-x with multiple partners within past 21 days," said the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
"In any epidemic where you are trying to control the epidemic you give it to people most at risk," Paul Hunter, a professor of health protection at the Norwich School of Medicine, University of East Anglia in the U.K., told Newsweek.
"For monkeypox, this is men who have se-x with men and who participate in active se-xual networks where they have frequent intimate contact with a range of others. That is the group where the epidemic is primarily spreading and that is the group where you need to target the vaccine in the first instance. Giving vaccines to people who are not really at risk isn't going to achieve anything," he said.
According to Hunter, men who have se-x with men but are in an exclusive relationship are not at much risk, however, and therefore don't need prioritizing for vaccine access at this point.
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