US will stretch monkeypox vaccine supply with smaller doses

U.S. health officials on Tuesday authorized a new monkeypox vaccination strategy designed to stretch limited supplies by allowing health professionals to vaccinate up to five people — instead of one — with each vial.

The so-called dose-sparing approach uses just a fraction of the typical amount of the Jynneos vaccine and administers it with an injection just under the skin rather than into deeper tissue. Recipients would still get two shots spaced four weeks apart.

The highly unusual step is a stark acknowledgment that the U.S. currently lacks the supplies needed to vaccinate everyone seeking protection from the rapidly spreading virus. That includes 1.6 million to 1.7 million Americans considered by federal officials to be at highest risk from the disease, primarily men with HIV or have a higher risk of contracting it. Vaccinating that group would require about three times more full doses than the roughly 1.1 million officials have made available.