The White House said Thursday it will distribute 1.8 million doses of the monkeypox vaccine next week — although it's still unclear how many will arrive in San Diego.
“We are working to meet demand wherever we may find it," White House Monkeypox Coordinator Bob Fenton said Thursday morning.
San Diego County has held a handful of open vaccine clinics and has distributed some doses to local health care providers. But thousands of San Diegans at risk of contracting the virus have still been unable to get vaccinated because of a nationwide shortage.
As of Wednesday, San Diego County had recorded 180 cases of monkeypox. Of those cases with available data, 95% have been among gay or bisexual men.
Both Los Angeles and San Francisco have made vaccines available on a walk-in basis, but San Diego County has offered vaccines by appointment only.
As of Monday, just under 3,000 doses have been administered. The county has requested 26,638 doses of the vaccine, called Jynneos, but has received only 5,047. Counties with larger case counts have been given higher priority.
Eligibility for the vaccine has been limited to gay and bisexual men, who are most at risk of getting monkeypox, and people with known exposure to the virus.
“If you don’t have the vaccines, there’s not much you can do," said Dr. William Tseng, who oversees vaccines at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego.
Last week the FDA authorized health care providers to administer the vaccine via intradermal injection, where the shot is delivered between layers of skin. Officials believe the method can offer good immunity while stretching the vaccine supply up to five-fold.
But people must be specially trained to do intradermal injections, which Tseng said San Diego County has done remarkably well.
“The entire county was able to move within the course of a week from a whole process of subcutaneous to intradermal injection," Tseng said. "That’s amazing for a whole county to be able to move that quickly."
The monkeypox virus causes a rash or sores that can be very painful, and many patients also develop flu-like symptoms. Tseng said you should contact your health care provider if you think you have monkeypox.
