Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Questions Grow Over Possible Wider Spread Of Monkeypox
The man had recently traveled to the United States from the United Kingdom, and his highest-risk exposure was attending a crowded outdoor event, where he had close contact with others, including dancing, for a few hours, researchers said. He did not come into contact with anyone who appeared sick, or who had visible lesions. It was not an event attended specifically or mostly by gay and bisexual people, the letter said. (Ho, 8/16)
Of 200 asymptomatic people who were screened and were negative for two STIs, 13 (6.5%) were positive for monkeypox. Two of them developed monkeypox symptoms later. The authors said it's not clear if viral shedding can lead to transmission. If so, they wrote that postexposure ring vaccination around people with probable or confirmed infections might not be enough to contain the spread of the virus. (Schnirring, 8/16)
On other monkeypox matters in the news —
At least eight children in the U.S. have now tested positive for monkeypox, after health officials in Harris County, Texas, confirmed to ABC News that a presumptive case had been identified in a child under the age of 2. (Mitropoulos, 8/16)
Houston-area officials decided to include about 26,000 people living with HIV, as well as people diagnosed with chlamydia, to the vaccination priority list based on the impression that a new national vaccination strategy would bring a five-fold increase in the number of doses coming to Houston. But on Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention informed state and local health departments that the number of incoming doses would be unchanged, ensuring that demand will continue to outstrip supply. (Gill, 8/16)
The dashboard, which officials said will go live at 6 p.m. Wednesday, appears to address council members’ concerns about making sure the city’s limited number of vaccine doses go to underserved communities, and parents’ concerns about safety before the upcoming school year. (Brice-Saddler and Portnoy, 8/16)
Pets exposed to people with monkeypox should be isolated to ensure they don’t spread the virus to other people or animals, US health officials said after a dog was reported to be infected with the virus in Paris. (Muller, 8/16)
In news on why monkeypox vaccines are so sparsely available —
NPR spoke with two people in a position to know: Matt Linley is with Airfinity, an independent, London-based analytics company that has been tracking production and deliveries of monkeypox vaccine. Dr. Phiona Atuhebwe coordinates the introduction of new vaccines in Africa for the World Health Organization. Here are eight takeaways. (Aizenman, 8/16)
