Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness, says the vaccine JYNNEOS, approved for the prevention of monkeypox disease in people aged 18 and up, arrived in Jamaica on October 17, 2022.
Some 1,400 single-dose vials of the vaccine, with an expiry date of June 2025, will be distributed on a priority basis to healthcare workers involved in the direct care of monkeypox patients and without the appropriate personal protective equipment; adult household contacts; and sexual partners of a confirmed case.
The health ministry says the administration of the monkeypox vaccine is not currently recommended for the general population.
Jamaica recorded its first confirmed case of monkeypox in July after a male from Clarendon traveled from the United Kingdom.
The country has since confirmed 15 monkeypox cases after the Ministry of Health and Wellness disclosed on Sunday that an additional case had been confirmed.
Monkeypox transfers from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets, as well as contaminated materials such as bedding.
