More than 600 Douglas County residents have been vaccinated against Monekypox so far, local health officials say

OMAHA, Nebraska – Vaccinations against monkeypox have been administered to hundreds of residents in Douglas County.

According to the Douglas County Health Department, there have been around 650 people protected against monkeypox by vaccination. At this time, there are more requests for the vaccine than there are supplies available from the Health Department.

Since the commencement of the outbreak, there have been a total of 24 cases of monkeypox that have been reported in Omaha.

On Tuesday, the Douglas County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to discuss a request made by the Visiting Nurse Association for assistance in the administration of the two-dose vaccine to high-risk individuals from now until June 30, 2023.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services revealed the availability of additional monkeypox vaccines in an announcement that was issued the previous week.

The Department of Health and Human Services has plans to increase the number of places across the country that are able to receive vaccine shipments from the federal government.

According to Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, “Responding to the epidemic of monkeypox involves close collaboration between the federal government, states, tribes, and towns.”

AmerisourceBergen was the recipient of a contract worth $19.8 million that was handed out by the HHS Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. The Strategic National Stockpile is able to expand its distribution thanks to the contract, which enables additional weekly shipments and delivery locations.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) asserts that within the next few weeks, the increased distribution will result in up to 2,500 additional shipments of the JYNNEOS vaccine each week, as well as up to 2,500 shipments each week that are stored at an ambient temperature, which can be used for the distribution of TPOXX.

The jurisdictions are not charged for the provision of the vaccines or their delivery. Prior to the latest awarding of the contract, the Strategic National Stockpile was sending vaccines to approximately five locations across each state and territory.