Broome Health Department Now Offers Walk-in Monkeypox Shots
The Broome County Health Department is now offering the monkeypox vaccine by walk-in instead of an advance appointment.
Officials say walk-ins are available every Tuesday at the Health Department Offices on Front Street, Binghamton between 8:30 a.m. and noon and from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.
The JYNNEOS vaccine is licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a two-dose series. The shot is intended for the prevention of monkeypox among adults ages 18 and older.
The two doses are administered 28 days apart. Individuals are not considered to be fully vaccinated until two weeks after receiving the second dose of the vaccine.
The Broome County Health Department says people who are over the age of 18 are eligible for the JYNNEOS (monkeypox) vaccine if they meet certain criteria:
· Have had a recent exposure to a suspected or confirmed monkeypox case within the past 14 days
· Those at a high risk of a recent exposure to monkeypox, including gay men and members of the bisexual, transgender, and gender non-confirming community and other communities of men who have sex with men and who have engaged in intimate or skin- to-skin contact with others in the past 14 days where monkeypox is spreading.
· Individuals who have had skin-to-skin contact with someone in a social network experiencing monkeypox activity, including men who have sex with men who meet partners through an online website, digital application ("app"), or social event, such as a bar or party.
· Any individual that may be at risk of future exposure to infection with monkeypox, even though they are not at high risk of a recent exposure to monkeypox.
The Health Department says, “Monkeypox is a viral illness that begins with symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, and exhaustion. Soon after, a rash of flesh-colored bumps appears that resembles pimples or blisters. While monkeypox is rarely a life-threatening condition, it can be very painful. As of now, cases are decreasing in the county, but the threat of infection is still present.”