U.S. health officials are considering expanding recommendations on who gets the monkeypox vaccine, possibly to include many men with HIV or those recently diagnosed with another STD. Read: HIV cases in Cartagena are increasing in this 2022
The discussion stemmed from a study released Thursday showing that a higher than expected proportion of monkeypox infections occurs in people who already have other sexually transmitted diseases. Read: Her husband infected her with HIV: she found out when she got pregnant
Dr John T. Brooks, the chief medical officer responsible for the epidemic response from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the report represents “a call to action.”
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Brooks told The Associated Press Thursday that he hopes recommendations for the use of the vaccine will expand and that “the White House, along with the CDC, are working on a plan to determine what the above will look like.”
Currently, the CDC recommends that the vaccine be offered to people in close contact with someone infected, to people who know a sexual partner has been diagnosed with monkeypox in the past two weeks, and to gay or bisexual men who have had multiple partners. sexual in the past two weeks The last two weeks in an area where cases of the virus have been detected.
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The vaccine is also recommended for healthcare professionals at high risk of exposure to the virus.
The vast majority of cases of monkeypox have been reported in men who have sex with men who have reported close contact with an infected person during intercourse. But the new CDC report indicates that infections among people with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases may be higher than previously thought.
The study looked at around 2,000 cases of monkeypox in four states and four cities from mid-May to late July.
It found that 38 percent of people infected with monkeypox had been diagnosed with HIV, a much higher percentage than their proportion in the population of men who have sex with men.
The study also found that 41 percent of people infected with monkeypox had been diagnosed with venereal disease in the past year. And about 10 percent of those patients had been diagnosed with three or more different sexually transmitted diseases in the previous year.
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The study has serious limitations, including the fact that the data may not be nationally representative, the authors said.
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Brooks said the findings could lead to the recommendation of vaccines for people with recent sexually transmitted diseases, people with HIV, people taking prophylactic drugs to prevent HIV, and possibly prostitutes.
Discussions to expand vaccine eligibility will need to take into account the availability of two-dose vaccine supplies. And any substantial expansion of recommendations for monkeypox vaccine use will also be subject to review by the CDC’s independent vaccination consultants, health officials said.
Separately, the CDC sent a letter to state and local health departments on Thursday pointing out that federal funds for HIV and STD prevention can now also be used for monkeypox. Officials say cases in the United States appear to be on the decline.
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