DOH: Discussions with US gov’t to secure monkeypox vaccines ongoing

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said discussions with the United States (US) government to secure vaccines for monkeypox were still ongoing as the Philippines recorded its first case of the illness.

DOH alternate spokesperson Undersecretary Beverly Ho said that only a select group of the population would have to be vaccinated.

“Well, now our discussions are ongoing. I think we have mentioned it in our previous press conferences, we are working with the US government to secure the vaccines,” Ho said at a briefing in Malacañang.

“There is not a lot that is available in the market also, that it is only a select population group that will have to be vaccinated. Again, it is not like COVID that all of us need to be vaccinated,” she added.

Last June, US health authorities said they were immediately releasing 56,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine — five times the number distributed so far — to areas of high transmission as part of a major escalation of the country's immunization strategy.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) only recommended monkeypox vaccines be offered to those who had confirmed exposures.

The DOH official, meanwhile, said that surveillance systems were in place. She also urged the public to be vigilant.

“There is a very clear need to be more careful who we interact with particularly sexual intimate contact. I think what is clear to us... we are working closely with those population groups so that they will have better preparation, risk perception that this is a disease that will probably concern them more than the general population,” Ho said.

The DOH said monkeypox was a virus transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, or contaminated materials.

The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier declared the monkeypox outbreak, which has affected nearly 16,000 people in 72 countries, to be a global health emergency -- the highest alarm it can sound.

Monkeypox has affected over 15,800 people in 72 countries, according to a tally by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published on July 20.

Since early May, a surge in monkeypox infections has been reported outside the West and Central African countries where the disease has long been endemic.

Meanwhile, the first symptoms of monkeypox are fever, headaches, muscle pain, and back pain during the course of five days.

Rashes subsequently appear on the face, the palms of hands, and the soles of the feet, followed by lesions, spots, and finally scabs. — DVM, GMA News