AUSTIN, Texas — Editor's note: The above video was published on July 29.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has delivered enough JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine doses to Austin Public Health (APH) for 1,500 people, the local health agency confirmed Tuesday.
APH said this is still considered a limited supply, so it is evaluating those who are high-risk close contacts to monkeypox cases for vaccination eligibility, following the criteria of both the DSHS and the CDC.
APH said only those who had a sexual partner in the past 14 days that was diagnosed with monkeypox or those who had multiple sexual partners in the past 14 days in a jurisdiction with known monkeypox are currently eligible to receive the vaccine.
As of Thursday, July 28, there have been nine confirmed cases of monkeypox in Austin-Travis County and an additional 32 presumptive cases. According to the CDC's map of U.S. cases by state, Texas had 397 cases as of Monday, Aug. 1.
Once a rare disease, monkeypox is now a public health emergency declared by the World Health Organization. However, health experts say that designation does not necessarily mean it's particularly transmissible or lethal.
Britny Eubank on social media: Twitter
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: