US will stretch monkeypox vaccine supply with smaller doses

US will stretch monkeypox vaccine supply with smaller doses

FILE - A man holds a sign urging increased access to the monkeypox vaccine during a protest in San Francisco, July 18, 2022. U.S. health officials on Tuesday, August 9, 2022, 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. (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials have authorized a plan to stretch the nation’s limited supply of monkeypox vaccine by giving people just one-fifth the usual dose. In an announcement issued Tuesday, they cited research suggesting that the reduced amount is about as effective. The so-called dose-sparing approach also calls for administering the Jynneos vaccine with an injection just under the skin rather than into deeper tissue — a practice that may rev up the immune system better. 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.

Photo: (AP Photo/Haven Daley, File)