Monkeypox cases rising quickly in Colorado
The number of monkeypox cases in Colorado has risen to 36. The number is rising quickly and the number of doses of the vaccine to prevent the effects of the virus is running down.
Now considered a global health emergency, the vaccine for monkeypox is in high demand.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention distributes it to the states including Colorado where the stretch is on to make it last.
Scott Bookman with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment headed the state's incident response to COVID-19 and now Monkeypox
"We have moved to a strategy where we are focusing on first doses and we will be providing second doses once the federal supply of vaccine increases," said Bookman.
The state has provided several hundred doses of the vaccine called Jynneos.
Colorado's Senators Michael Bennett and John Hickenlooper sent a letter to the CDC and Department of Human Services saying billions have been invested to create a stockpile of the vaccine and it should be released.
One man told a nurse what it was like to have the virus, "I think I'm going to die because I can't eat, I can't drink, I can't swallow my own spit."
"We are making the vaccine available to those who are at the highest risk of contracting the virus as of this point."
Those considered most at risk by state health officials are men who have had sex with multiple men.
The vaccine is also being made available to those who have been exposed to monkeypox through contact or bed linens.
Monkeypox is a virus that originates in wild animals like rodents and primates. While it can jump to people, it's rarely seen outside central and western Africa – until now.
Those symptoms include fever, headaches, muscle aches, fatigue, swollen lymph nodes and a worsening rash that lasts 2-4 weeks. Monkeypox also requires very close contact to spread, so it is not likely to prompt big waves of disease like COVID-19, which can be transmitted in the air by people with no symptoms.
LINKS: CDC Monkeypox | | CDPHE Monkeypox Vaccines | CBS News Monkeypox Vaccines
