PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) —Monkeypox cases continue to climb across the country, and federal officials are acknowledging vaccine supply can’t keep up with demand.
Philadelphia and Pennsylvania have chosen to use different strategies for distributing the vaccines than other municipalities, and many of those most at-risk are confused and frustrated.
The CDC recommends the vaccine for people with the greatest risk, including gay and bisexual men with multiple partners in areas where monkeypox is spreading. The CDC said Monday night that Pennsylvania has seen 61 cases, with 31 in New Jersey and one in Delaware, and 1,972 total cases nationwide.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said last week that it sent 482 doses to Pennsylvania and 2,813 doses to New Jersey. Philadelphia received about half of Pennsylvania's doses.
But there is not enough vaccine to make it widely available to all affected.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health and Philadelphia Department of Public Health are prioritizing shots for those with confirmed cases or known exposure, while other cities have opened up appointments to the full at-risk population.
But according to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, one of the challenges involves the timing of testing, which can’t be done until symptoms reveal themselves following a long incubation period.
"The test for monkeypox is a swab of the lesion,” said Dr. Walensky. “So by definition, if you don't have a lesion, it's hard to do the test. There are no approved tests to do [in] other ways."
It can take up to three weeks after infection for lesions to show up. By then, it may be too late to get the vaccine to those who have had close contact with the monkeypox patient.
The vaccine is a two-dose regimen, with the second shot coming four weeks after the first.
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Some suggest giving as many first doses as possible with the available supply. New York City is using that strategy.
FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Dr. Peter Marks said he disagrees with that tactic, believing health departments should hold back half of the supply to make sure second doses are available.
“The two-dose regimen is the best that we can do, to make sure that we actually have people get the protection that the vaccine is intended to provide,” said Dr. Marks.
The virus is most commonly transmitted through close, intimate skin-to-skin contact.
The vast majority of cases are currently in men who have sex with men, but health officials say there’s nothing keeping it from spreading more widely.
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