Monkeypox Vaccine Equity Pilot Open for Applications
September 22, 2022, 8:59 a.m. News Staff — Applications are being accepted for a new CDC program to develop innovative and nontraditional ways of tackling vaccination disparities in the populations that have been most affected by monkeypox.
The Monkeypox Vaccine Equity Pilot Program is open to local, state and territorial health departments, tribal governments and organizations, federally funded tribal health care facilities and local nongovernmental organizations.
“We have a responsibility to address inequities that have been highlighted by this outbreak, and this program will help make a difference,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., said in a press release. “This outbreak is affecting members of the gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men community at an unequal rate, and it has disproportionately affected the Black and Hispanic communities. Distributing monkeypox vaccines in a way that addresses and reduces these disparities is the goal of this program and is a high priority for CDC and our public health partners.”
A total of 10,000 vials of the Jynneos vaccine — up to 50,000 doses — has been reserved for the pilot program. Applications will be accepted until the supply is exhausted.