There are no enough monkeypox vaccines for everyone as the number of new cases is on the rise in Texas

Texas – Monkeypox cases are rising in Texas, so is the number of reported cases in the North Texas area. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the best prevention against monkeypox is getting vaccinated, but vaccination is currently not considered the best option on a federal level because majority of Americans are unlikely to accept vaccination, but more importantly, there are not enough available vaccines to meet potentially increased demand.

According to the most recent data valid until Friday, July 15, a total of 76 cases of monkeypox have been reported in the state of Texas over the last month. 28 of those have been reported in the North Texas region.

Most of the monkeypox cases are men. So is the case in Texas, where all of the reported cases so far are men. Health officials say that monkeypox is primarily spread by men who have s*x with other men.

Last week, Dallas County Health and Human Services confirmed the first monkeypox local transmission case, which was also the fifth case in Dallas County at the time. According to the department, the fifth case was an out-of-state visitor who was in town for the Daddyland Festival over the July 4th weekend.

Earlier this week, we also reported on the first monkeypox case in Tarrant County. Tarrant County health officials didn’t immediately provide many details about the case.

Chris Van Deusen with the Dept. of State Health Services said that currently only one vaccine is safe to use and is made by Danish company. The vaccine prevents people from getting sick if the vaccine is administered within four days of exposure.

The demand for the vaccine is currently unknown, but many health officials nationwide believe that the majority of the positive cases are not interested in getting vaccinated against monkeypox in a period when the CDC and the local health departments are still pushing for vaccination against Covid-19.

America had previously ordered 2.5 million vaccines, but the Biden administration confirmed on Friday that an additional 2.5 million doses were ordered earlier this week.

Monkeypox infection is possible “through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, or shared items (such as clothing and bedding) that have been contaminated with the fluids or sores of a person with monkeypox.”

Those with monkeypox may develop symptoms such as a fever, swollen lymph nodes, and general body aches before developing a rash.