SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio has received 1,000 doses of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine to help combat the growing outbreak.
The Metropolitan Health District announced Tuesday that the two-shot regimen will be enough to fully vaccinate 500 people.
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Six local clinics will receive 720 doses to cover 360 people, while the city will keep the remaining 280 doses for people identified in case investigations.
Doses will be available at the following clinics by appointment only:
- Alamo Area Resource Center (AARC)
- BEAT AIDS
- CentroMed Santa Rosa Pavilion Clinic
- Kind Clinic San Antonio
- San Antonio AIDS Foundation
- University Health’s Family-Focused AIDS Clinical Treatment Services (FFACTS)
A news release from the department states that distribution will be expanded as more vaccines become available.
On Wednesday, U.S. health regulators signed off on nearly 800,000 monkeypox vaccines to be distributed, despite weeks of delays. At the time, the U.S. had already sent more than 310,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine to state and local health departments but major cities said they needed more shots to meet the demand.
In the release, Metro Health Assistant Director Dr. Anita K. Kurian said, “We are working to acquire additional doses to expand the availability of monkeypox vaccine.”
“In the meantime, we encourage those that believe they were exposed to monkeypox to please call 210-207-8876,” she said.
Tecovirimat, an antiviral treatment for monkeypox, is available for those who have been diagnosed with the virus and have severe disease or are at high risk for severe disease.
As of Monday, 13 people in Bexar County and 397 people in Texas have been diagnosed with monkeypox, according to Metro Health and the CDC.
The CDC says 5,811 people in the U.S. have been confirmed with monkeypox.
The monkeypox virus mainly spreads from person to person through contact, but it can also transmit through touching linens used by someone with the infection. People with monkeypox may experience rash or sores, headaches, fever, body aches, chills and fatigue.
The illness can last for two to four weeks. For more information, click here.
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