The nation's stockpile of monkeypox vaccines racks up to nearly 7 million with the latest HHS purchase of Jynneos doses from Bavarian Nordic, the only manufacturer with an approved monkeypox vaccine.
On July 15, the HHS ordered 2.5 million Jynneos doses, repeating its July 1 order. The total supply is expected to be available by mid-2023, and more than 150,000 doses have already been shipped to U.S. states and jurisdictions, according to HHS.
Bavarian Nordic isn't running at full speed yet, though, since one of its facilities has been under construction with a tentative date to reopen in late summer. Physicians have expressed concern about snags in curbing the outbreak — which some say should be labeled as a pandemic — such as the lack of widespread testing and not enough supply.
Labs are ramping up their efforts to process more tests, jumping from evaluating 6,000 tests per week since the start of the outbreak to 70,000 tests a week, according to the HHS.
The latest order of monkeypox vaccines will immediately ship 131,000 Jynneos vaccines across the country. As of July 14, the CDC reported 1,470 monkeypox cases in the U.S.