In Los Angeles County, the number of cases of monkeypox increased 62% in one week to 496.
Health authorities have issued new guidelines to focus on the first dose and delay the second dose to prevent the spread of the virus amid a shortage of vaccines.
Reporter Lee Chae-won reports.
[리포트]
Los Angeles County health officials are taking steps to slow the spread of monkeypox.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health updated today (5th) for a total of 496 cases of monkeypox.
This is a 62% increase from 306 cases counted on the 29th of last month (July) a week ago, or 190 cases.
As the monkeypox virus spreads rapidly in Los Angeles County, the Department of Health is taking measures to respond.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health says it will focus on a single dose of the JYNNEOS monkey smallpox vaccine for now.
In order to complete the vaccination once morest monkeypox, two doses of Jinneos vaccine should be administered at an interval of 4 weeks.
However, given the current shortage of this vaccine, in order to vaccinate as many people as possible, we will focus on the first dose and postpone the second dose until the vaccine becomes readily available.
However, if you are infected with the AIDS virus or are in a state of reduced immunity, the second vaccination should be completed 28 days following the first vaccination because an immune response may not appear with just one dose of the vaccine.
The health authorities said this decision was a measure to prevent the rapid spread, along with scientific data that showed a high antibody response only with the first dose.
The Health Department explained that increasing the period between the first and second doses is not expected to reduce the immune response.
However, Ward Carpenter, director of health services at the LGBT Center in Los Angeles, said the move would raise a lot of concern among those who need a second dose.
He added that although he supports this measure, there is also a big question regarding how much protection can be provided with only the first dose.
Anne Rimoin, professor of epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health and member of the World Health Organization’s WHO Monkeypox Emergency Committee, said there is currently a lack of data on the effectiveness of the vaccine.
This is Chaewon Lee from Radio Korea News.