Monkeypox vaccines coming to more B.C. residents

VICTORIA—The provincial government announced today it will be making monkeypox vaccines available to more people.

The news comes after an announcement by the World Health Organization declaring the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency. B.C. has only seen 61 cases of monkeypox with the majority of those in the lower mainland. Northern Health has not had a confirmed case of the disease as of July 27, 2022.

To date, B.C. has received 14,480 doses of vaccine for outbreak control, including post-exposure prophylaxis. Vaccines are ordered weekly and all doses are distributed to health authorities for administration. As of July 25, 2022, 7,200 doses were administered to high-risk people.

The monkeypox virus does not spread easily from person-to-person. All identified local transmission has involved prolonged skin-to-skin contact, which is suspected to be the primary way the virus is spread.