Monkeypox vaccine priority for frontliners caring for infected

Jamaican healthcare workers involved in direct care of monkeypox patients without the appropriate personal protective equipment and household contacts of confirmed patients will be prioritised for vaccination when the inoculants arrive this month.

In an effort to maximise take-up and achieve the objectives for containment, the Cabinet has given approval for the administration of the vaccine as a post-exposure treatment.

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton said 3,500 doses were promised but the country may not receive the full complement as the vaccine is in high demand and supply is limited.

“Once we have received more doses of the vaccine, the prioritisation method will be refined and the public will be advised. We have been advised by PAHO that it is not anticipated that additional doses will be made available to Jamaica before 2023,” Tufton said.

Addressing lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, the minister said Jamaica has recorded two more cases of monkeypox in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections to nine.

Only two of the nine cases have been categorised as imported.

The new cases were locally transmitted and the affected persons are from St Elizabeth and St James.

Forty-five Jamaicans have been quarantined since the first case was confirmed and contact tracing is ongoing.

“Given that cases are locally transmitted, there is a high probability that more cases are within the population that are not detected by public health and may cause further spread … ,” Tufton said.

“There are risks, particularly because of the unknown, which is how the virus is spreading particularly within the population, stigma associated with the virus and the possibility of the virus penetrating into particular vulnerable populations, including the school population.”

Tufton said that the ministry developed a management plan in July aimed at containing and eliminating monkeypox, providing public education and social-marketing strategies to optimise behaviour change and increase the use of infection prevention and control measures.

Further, he said the ministry will also be working on managing stigma and discrimination that may be associated with the disease.

Tufton said the ministry has revised and circulated new infection prevention and control procedures to protect those employed within health facilities.

“One aspect of these new procedures is the creation of appropriate isolation spaces to ensure the protection of all within the health facilities. These spaces are separate from those provided for COVID-19 patients. Plans are now being finalized for all health facilities, where necessary, to be retrofitted to meet the requirements for the revised procedures,” he said.

The health minister said that the Government is mindful of the impact that COVID-19 has had on the education system and the threat posed by monkeypox if its spread is not contained.

judana.murphy@gleanerjm.com