Broome Health Department now offering walk-in appointments for monkeypox vaccine – WBNG

October 13, 2022 Kim Martel

(WBNG) — The Broome County Health Department is now offering the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine by walk-in appointment.

The walk-ins are available every Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a break between noon and 12:30 p.m.

The monkeypox vaccine is a two-dose series for the prevention of monkeypox among adults ages 18-years-old and older, the health department said. Doses are administered 28 days apart.

“Monkeypox is a viral illness that begins with symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, and exhaustion,” the department said. “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.”

The vaccine is available to people who are 18 or older who:

Have had recent exposure to a suspected or confirmed monkeypox case within the past 14 days

Those at a high risk of 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 events, such as a bar or party.
Any individual may be at risk of future exposure to infection with monkeypox, even though they are not at high risk of recent exposure to monkeypox.