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This explainer answers key questions about mpox, the international response to date including the U.S. government’s role, and its challenges. It also discusses how the global emergency might affect the U.S. and the current status of mpox circulation within the U.S.
This edition highlights vaccine hesitancy and misinformation around MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccines as children return to school and measles cases resurge in parts of the U.S. It also examines emerging narratives around COVID-19 vaccine misinformation following the FDA approval of COVID-19 boosters and false claims linking mpox to the vaccines.
This brief provides an overview of the impact of mpox in the U.S. one year after a case of was identified domestically and the federal response to date, and discusses the future outlook.
This analysis examines monkeypox (MPX) cases and vaccinations by race/ethnicity based on national data obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We find that while the current MPX outbreak in U.S. appears to be slowing down, disparities persist among Black and Hispanic people.
According to a new KFF analysis assessing monkeypox (MPX) vaccine eligibility across the United States, people who are exposed or presumed exposed to MPX are generally eligible to get a vaccine across the country. However, eligibility varies across the United States for certain workers, including laboratory staff and others who might be at increased risk.
This analysis examines jurisdictional approaches to eligibility for monkeypox (MPX) vaccine. Overall, almost all jurisdictions have, at minimum, adopted the current approach laid out by the CDC. However, there is substantial variation in how eligibility is defined. Additionally, several jurisdictions lack clear criteria or information on who is eligible or where to get vaccinated. This may impact on who gets vaccinated, lead to geographic disparities, and raises potentially equity challenges.
A small number of states, as well as some local jurisdictions, are reporting race/ethnicity data on MPX cases and vaccinations and these data show a disproportionate impact of MPX cases on Black and Hispanic people. The data available to date on vaccinations also suggest that Black and Hispanic people are receiving smaller shares of vaccinations despite accounting for larger shares of cases.
This policy watch examines early data showing that Black and Hispanic people are bearing a disproportionate burden of monkeypox cases and discusses the importance of centering equity in response efforts, including prevention, testing, and treatment.
This analysis examines monkeypox vaccine allocations and jurisdictional requests. It explores jurisdictional request rate (the number of vaccine does requested as a share of the jurisdiction’s allocation from HHS) for JYNNEOS, the preferred vaccine. Overall, while most jurisdictions have requested at least their full supply, some are well below that mark, raising questions about how quickly their at-risk populations can get protected.
This brief answers key questions about the U.S. monkeypox outbreak to date and identifies issues that may affect the response going forward.
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