AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF) – The Texas Department of State Health Services announced on Monday that it received a shipment of 14,780 doses of the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine.
DSHS immediately forwarded 5,120 doses to Dallas County Health and Human Services. Dallas County has reported the largest number of confirmed monkeypox cases in Texas. According to DSHS, the remainder of the state doses will be provided to local health departments and DSHS regional offices to vaccinate people with a documented or presumed exposure to the monkeypox virus.
The shipment represents all the JYNNEOS vaccine available now to Texas from the federal Strategic National Stockpile. Houston and Harris County have received a separate shipment of approximately 5,000 doses from the SNS. Health departments can request vaccine through the DSHS Vaccine Allocation and Ordering System.
The JYNNEOS vaccine remains in limited supply, and additional vaccine is not expected to be available until late August or early September, so public health plans to prioritize people at the highest risk for monkeypox.
Most monkeypox cases in Texas have been transmitted through direct skin-to-skin contact with the monkeypox rash of an infected person. The illness is largely circulating among men who have sex with men, though there have been cases outside this population, according to DSHS. Monkeypox is a viral illness that starts with symptoms like fever, headache, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion.
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