'Watch out for the bleb' - NY state announces transition to intradermal monkeypox vaccine injections

Record ID: 1685736

  • Title: 'Watch out for the bleb' - NY state announces transition to intradermal monkeypox vaccine injections
  • Date: 22nd August 2022
  • Summary: VALHALLA, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - JULY 28, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF WMC DRIVE-THROUGH CLINIC
  • Embargoed: 5th September 2022 17:20
  • Keywords: injections limited supply monkeypox supply chain shortages vaccines
  • Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK + VALHALLA, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK + VALHALLA, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Health/Medicine,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA008992222082022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:At a briefing Monday (August 22), New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett announced a change to the way the state administers the monkeypox vaccine.
    Barrett said that starting August 29, the state will begin administering the vaccine “through a different route called intradermal, as opposed to subcutaneous. And this strategy allows us just to use one-fifth of the dose that we used previously.”
    On Tuesday, August 9, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized injecting a monkeypox vaccine intradermally in adults, meaning between layers of the skin rather than below the skin, in an effort to stretch out low vaccine supplies.
    Barrett said data show that the two methods of injection result in equivalent antibody levels. However, she acknowledged that an intradermal injection may be less pleasant to receive.
    “It can scar. It is more painful. There are more complications at the site. These aren't serious, but they're unpleasant,” she said. “But, you know, we have been struggling with not having enough doses. And our obligation in public health is always to do the most good for the most people. And intradermal administration will vastly expand our access to a scarce resource.”
    Spain and Britain have also approved the use of smaller doses of the monkeypox vaccine, following the European Medicines Agency decision last week to allow "dose-sparing."
    More than 40,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox - including a handful of deaths - in over 80 countries where the virus is not endemic have been reported since early May
    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of August 19, there were 14,115 total confirmed monkeypox cases in the United States. The highest number of cases - 2,744 - was found in New York State.
    (Production: Christine Kiernan)
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