August 4, 2022
The Durham County Department of Public Health announced Thursday it will be expanding monkeypox vaccinations starting Monday.
Currently, vaccinations through the health department are available by appointment only. The increased availability will speed things up.
“As a result of this increased availability, individuals with appointments currently scheduled on or after August 22 will be contacted by DCoDPH for the opportunity to schedule an earlier appointment,” the announcement said.
Wake County Public Health is also ramping up vaccines.
For those eligible, the county will hold a walk-in vaccination clinic from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, at the Wake County Public Health building at 10 Sunnybrook Road in Raleigh.
These announcements come as the Biden administration has declared monkeypox a public health emergency.
As of Thursday, there were 86 confirmed cases of monkeypox in North Carolina, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services website.
The monkeypox virus can be spread through infected body fluids (including saliva and lesion fluid), items that have been in contact with infected fluids or lesion crusts, and respiratory droplets., the website states.
The incubation period is usually one to two weeks. People are infectious from the start of symptoms (before the rash forms) until the lesions heal and new skin forms underneath scabs and the scabs have all fallen off, the website states.
Durham confirmed its first case July 12, and North Carolina received its first doses of vaccine soon after. As of Tuesday, the state had received 10,148 doses of vaccine, with 8,300 more doses expected in the coming weeks, according to the DHHS website..
Due to the limited supply, vaccinations are limited to individuals who meet the following criteria:
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People who have been in close physical contact with someone diagnosed with monkeypox in the last 14 days. This category Includes certain health care workers and public health professionals.
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Men who have sex with men, or transgender individuals, who report any of the following in the last 90 days:
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Having multiple or anonymous sex partners
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Being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection
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Receiving HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms can include fever, headaches, chills, muscle aches, exhaustion and a blistering, pimple-like rash on the face, in and around the mouth, hands, feet, chest or genitals.
To prevent the spread of monkeypox, the CDC recommends avoiding skin-to-skin contact with others, frequent handwashing, not sharing bedding, clothing, towels and eating utensils with a person infected with monkeypox and refraining from touching kissing, hugging, snuggling or having sex with an infected person.
This story was originally published August 4, 2022 6:03 PM.
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