The Biden administration is preparing to move forward with a plan to stretch the limited supply of monkeypox vaccine doses that would allow providers to use one-fifth as much per shot, two people familiar with the plans said.
The Biden administration is set to announce a new emergency declaration as early as Tuesday afternoon that would enable providers to inject one-fifth of the currently authorized dose into the skin, rather than a full dose into underlying fat. The move was first reported by the New York Times.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said last week the FDA was considering a plan to stretch out doses. As of Monday, the US government has shipped 617,693 doses of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine to states and jurisdictions. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that at least 1.5 million people in the US are eligible for monkeypox vaccination.The Jynneos monkeypox vaccine is currently given in two doses subcutaneously, meaning it's delivered below the skin.