Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
HHS Announces More Locations Will Open To Get Monkeypox Vaccine
Reuters: U.S. To Expand Monkeypox Vaccine, Drug Distribution Through AmerisourceBergen Contract
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday said it will significantly expand the number of distribution locations for monkeypox vaccines and treatments through a new $20 million contract with AmerisourceBergen Corp. Under the new contract, HHS said it will be able to make up to 2,500 shipments per week of frozen doses of Bavarian Nordic's Jynneos vaccine from the Strategic National Stockpile, as well as shipments of SIGA Technologies' drug TPOXX to up to 2,500 locations. (Erman, 9/6)
On possible side effects of the monkeypox vaccine —
WLRN: 'It's Very Safe': Skin Redness After Intravenous Monkeypox Vaccination Shouldn't Cause Alarm
"[The intradermal vaccination] will go in between the layers of the skin, and that’s why it’s getting the redness because the area is more sensitive," Ramos Morales explained to WLRN at a Latinos Salud clinic in Miami Beach. "It’s very safe, it’s very minimal side effect and it only lasts a few days. It’s better to prevent to get the disease." (Zaragovia, 9/6)
BuzzFeed News: Monkeypox Linked To Heart Inflammation In A 31-Year-Old Man
A 31-year-old patient developed acute myocarditis about a week after first showing monkeypox lesions, according to a report published Friday in the American College of Cardiology’s journal, JACC: Case Reports. The man said he woke up in the night feeling chest pain that radiated through his left arm. He was admitted to the hospital with signs of heart damage. However, he made a full recovery and left the hospital a week later. (Waechter, 9/2)
Medpagetoday.com: Monkeypox Myocarditis
The American College of Cardiology said clinicians should be on the lookout for heart problems in patients with monkeypox after a 31-year-old man developed acute myocarditis. Lingering cardiac symptoms in people who initially had only mild COVID-19 may be driven by ongoing inflammatory myopericardial involvement, according to a single-center study from Germany. (Lou, 9/6)
In other news —
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Expands Monkeypox Vaccine Criteria For At-Risk Communities
As of Tuesday, 63 cases of monkeypox have been reported in the state, according to a statement from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Of those cases, 98% have been reported in men with 42% of those cases reported in Black Wisconsinites. The Black population accounts for 6.8% of the state's population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. (Van Egeren, 9/6)
The Charlotte Observer: Monkeypox Vaccine Eligibility To Include Women, Mecklenburg County Officials Say
ligibility for the monkeypox vaccine will be expanded to include women who have had sexual contact with high-risk individuals, Mecklenburg County health officials announced Tuesday. Dr. Raynard Washington, Mecklenburg County Public health director said at press conference that starting Wednesday, the eligibility requirements for the vaccine will be expanded to include women who in the last 90 days have engaged in sexual contact with gay or bisexual men. (Santiago, 9/7)
Yale Daily News: Yale Researchers Analyze Containment Strategies For Monkeypox
Monkeypox is an orthopoxvirus disease that spreads through close contact. Since May, cases in the United States have continued to climb. Proposed strategies for containing the outbreak include increasing rates of detection, contact tracing and vaccination. Melanie Chitwood GRD ’26, a graduate student in the epidemiology department at the Yale School of Public Health and the lead author of a new study, used a mathematical model to determine the rate of vaccination necessary to avoid monkeypox becoming endemic to the United States. (Nield, 9/6)
In related news about HIV/AIDS —
CIDRAP: Those With, Without HIV Have Similar Monkeypox Outcomes, Study Finds
A new study from Germany shows no major differences in the clinical picture in those with or without HIV who contract monkeypox. The study, in HIV Medicine, was based on 546 monkeypox cases in Germany, which has one of the highest monkeypox case counts in Europe. The study is published in HIV Medicine. (9/6)
Los Angeles Times: HIV/AIDS History Prompts Fears Of Racial Disparities For MPX
When Dr. Hyman Scott, medical director for the San Francisco Department of Public Health, gives presentations, he explains where MPX comes from and mentions camelpox, skunkpox, rabbitpox and chickenpox. He also said agency representatives refer to the virus as MPX at presentations “so people feel like they have space to receive that information.” The World Health Organization is calling for potential suggestions for a new name for the virus in light of criticism about the racist nature of the term “monkeypox.” (Evans, 9/6)
