Monkeypox vaccine deliveries should ease scarcity in Philly

Philadelphia should have access to more than 16,000 additional doses of monkeypox vaccine by the end of September, the city Department of Public Health said Monday.

The allocation of vaccine to the city comes about a week after Philadelphia health commissioner Cheryl Bettigole expressed dismay that vaccine supplies would be much smaller than expected, limiting the city’s ability to boost access to the vaccine.

In a statement Monday, Bettigole said she was “deeply grateful” for the additional doses, which are “greatly needed in Philadelphia right now.”

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response allocated 3,305 vials of the vaccine JYNNEOS to Philadelphia, which should be delivered in three batches between Monday and Sept. 30, the health department said. The city has already ordered 1,120 vials, and will be eligible to request more once 85% of the first shipment is used.

Philadelphia initially expected a delivery of 3,600 doses last week, but the federal agency decided to send only a fifth of that as they tried to figure out an equitable plan for national distribution.

The city will be able to get up to five doses from each vial by administering smaller doses injected directly into patients’ skin, health officials have said. That ratio won’t be exact in part because some people, including children and those who have some skin conditions or are prone to keloids, permanent scarring from intradermal injections, won’t be eligible for the smaller doses.

» READ MORE: Black Philadelphians are at higher risk of monkeypox but get just a fraction of vaccine doses

The health department wasn’t certain when the 1,120 vials will arrive.

The city received 720 vaccine vials last week from federal sources, along with 600 from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the city health department reported.

Health officials have estimated about 12,000 Philadelphians are at high risk of exposure to monkeypox, a population that primarily encompasses men who have sex with men and have had anonymous or multiple sex partners recently, but also includes some transgender and nonbinary people, and sex workers. Each person should receive two doses of the vaccine, administered about four weeks apart.

» READ MORE: Philly’s monkeypox vax supply must be stretched. The health commissioner is weighing how to do it.

City health officials and health experts have said containing monkeypox will require the high-risk population to get preventative doses of the vaccine. Because of vaccine scarcity, the city has given priority access to people already exposed to the virus, leaving thousands struggling to get the shots.

The health department is also grappling with a racial disparity in cases and vaccinations. Black Philadelphians account for a majority of the cases in the city, but have received just a fraction of the vaccine doses.

Philadelphia has reported 257 cases of the monkeypox and administered 4,228 doses of the vaccine.