Harris County, Houston to get 16,780 doses of monkeypox vaccine

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Published July 29, 2022 at 11:16 a.m. CTUpdated July 29, 2022

Harris County, Houston to get 16,780 doses of monkeypox vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 4,907 monkeypox cases in the U.S. as of July 28. (Courtesy Cynthia S. Goldsmith and Russell Regnery via Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced July 28 it will allocate 786,000 additional doses of the Jynneos vaccine to treat rising monkeypox cases, with 16,780 doses headed to Houston and Harris County.

The announcement from HHS followed a request from Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send additional vaccines.

In a news conference July 25, Hidalgo said the city and county had the opportunity to "lean forward" and minimize the impact of the virus before it spreads as much as it has in other parts of the country. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky expressed a similar sentiment in an HHS news release.

“Our vaccine allocation strategy allows us to be responsive to where we are seeing cases now and helps us stay ahead of where this outbreak might go in the future,” Walensky said. “With these additional doses, more will be available for those who are most in need as we work together to contain the outbreak.”

As of July 28, cases had risen to 315 in Texas and 4,907 nationally, up 194.39% and 40.72%, respectively, from July 25, according to data from the CDC. The U.S. has the highest number of cases of any country in the world, making up 23.2% of the 21,148 confirmed cases globally.

Harris County Public Health reported 82 cumulative monkeypox cases in Houston and Harris County as of July 27, with 66 in the city of Houston and 16 in unincorporated Harris County.