The United States is promoting the monkey vaccination campaign

U.S. health officials announced on Tuesday (June 28th) the immediate distribution of 56,000 doses of the monkey vaccine, five times the amount already distributed in high-transmission areas.

Previously, the vaccine was only recommended for people who were known to have the disease. But now it is recommended that these vaccines be used as well “People who have recently been exposed to chickenpox who may not have been identified through investigation or contact tracing”said Rochelle Valensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the country’s leading health agency. This includes, for example, men who have had sex with other men who have recently had multiple sexual partners in an area where monkeys are known or in an area where the disease is prevalent.

About 4,700 cases have been reported worldwide since the beginning of May, including 306 in the United States, none of which have been fatal so far, said Rochelle Valensky. Chickenpox, which has been known to humans since the 1970s, is considered far less dangerous and contagious than its cousin, chickenpox, which was eliminated in 1980. It is endemic to some parts of Central and West Africa.

The U.S. government has so far distributed more than 10,000 doses of the vaccine, with an additional 60,000 doses of Jynneos vaccine on Tuesday, said David Boucher of the Department of Health. The Jynneos vaccine is given in two doses. Authorities are taking care of an additional 240,000 doses in the coming weeks. Local authorities may also order the older generation ACAM2000 vaccine, which the authorities have in larger quantities but which is not recommended for all audiences due to its side effects.

According to observers, the actual number of chickenpox cases in the United States may be much higher than the official estimate.