FDA issues emergency use authorization for new monkeypox vaccine protocol
NEW YORK -- There is a new protocol for monkeypox vaccines.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization. It allows health care providers to change how the vaccine is administered.
As CBS2's Dave Carlin reported, it stretches out the supply during this period of high demand.
It's a go-ahead to start administering the monkeypox vaccine in a different way, by stretching out doses.
It would mean getting five shots out of each vial of Jynneos, instead of just one.
The vaccine gets injected intradermally -- or into skin -- instead of the current subcutaneous way underneath skin, and into fat.
Only one-fifth of the vaccine gets used per patient this way.
READ MORE: Monkeypox in NYC: Identifying symptoms, prevention tips, how to get a vaccine and more
Those who support this approach say it must be done because cases rise and the amount of vaccine is woefully limited.
"We have already seen huge amount of cases in New York City and other cities are falling," said Dr. Vino Palli, CEO of MiDoctor Urgent Care. "So I would say, yes, I think it's a good strategy. We need more vaccines, more Jynneos vaccines."
Palli said the new protocol can be a little trickier for some health care workers, but many are already trained how to administer shots this way because they do it in other situations, including for tuberculosis.
For anyone deemed higher risk, like men who have sex with men, Palli said to not hesitate.
"From a patient perspective, don't worry how, whether it is intradermal or subcutaneous. It doesn't matter. Just get the shot," Palli said.
"It's not ideal, but the people that I've been speaking to, the experts I've been speaking to, believe that on balance that we should be doing this," City Councilman Erik Bottcher said.
Bottcher has been critical of the government's slow rollout of the vaccine. He said he will receive his first dose of vaccine this week, and like all those vaccinated, he'll wait for a second shot, which is needed for maximum protection.
For the time being, first doses are the priority.
"It offers protection and that's what we need people to know," Bottcher said.
Another 150,000 vaccine doses will be released and divvied up from the national stockpile in September, with another round rolled out in October.
The change in protocol, with the FDA approval, comes less than a week after the Biden administration declared monkeypox a national public health emergency.