The Indiana Department of Health is hosting monkeypox vaccination clinics for anyone who is at risk of exposure, including people who have been exposed to monkeypox and people who may be more likely to get it.
The clinics will offer free doses of the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine at the following locations:
Allen County
- No appointment necessary.
- 8 p.m. to midnight, Friday, Aug. 12
- After Dark
112 E. Masterson Ave., Fort Wayne
Marion County
- Registration required in advance.
- 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Monday, Aug. 15
- You can register here by noon, Sunday, Aug. 14. (If you do not receive a message from the Marion County Public Health Department, you are not registered for the MCPHD’s vaccine clinic on Aug. 15.)
- Marion County Health Department
4012 N. Rural St., Indianapolis
Tippecanoe County
- No appointment necessary.
- 9 p.m. to midnight, Friday, Aug. 12
- Tippecanoe County Health Department
1950 S. 18th St., Lafayette
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccination for people at risk of contracting monkeypox, including:
- people who are aware that one of their sexual partners in the past two weeks has been diagnosed with monkeypox
- people who had multiple sexual partners in the past two weeks in an area with known monkeypox cases
- people whose jobs expose them to the virus, like laboratory workers who perform testing for orthopoxviruses, those who handle cultures or animals with orthopoxviruses, as well as some designated health care or public health workers
The CDC recommends two doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine, spaced four to five weeks apart. It takes 14 days after the second dose for the vaccine to provide maximum immune protection, according to health officials.
IDOH recommends that people who get the vaccine continue to take precautions to protect themselves from infection. This includes using condoms or gloves and other safer sex practices and avoiding skin-to-skin contact with people who have monkeypox.
As of Aug. 10, the state of Indiana has received 6,752 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to the HHS website. Nearly 12,000 doses have been allocated to the state, out of about a million currently available. Federal health officials said they’re determining how to divvy up vaccines based on need and HHS is exploring ways to stretch the limited supply.
This story comes from a reporting collaboration that includes the Indianapolis Recorder and Side Effects Public Media, a public health news initiative based at WFYI. Contact Farah at fyousry@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @ Farah_Yousrym .
