CT Officials Give Update On Monkeypox Situation

CONNECTICUT — Monkeypox cases in Connecticut have grown slowly as other nearby states experience larger spikes. Increased testing and vaccine capacity has come to the state in recent days, and more is on the way.

There will be 15 sites to administer the vaccine statewide starting Monday, Aug. 1. The vaccine is typically administered to people who had contact with an infected person. It is most effective if administered within four days of exposure, but can be used up to 14 days after exposure.

Vaccine requirements are:

Persons identified by state and local public health as being close contacts to someone who has tested positive for monkeypox.

OR

Connecticut residents who meet the following criteria:

• Men who have sex with men, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender non-conforming, or gender non-binary AND

• Age 18 or older AND
• Have had multiple or anonymous sex partners in the last 14 days

The virus is easier to contain than COVID-19, Gov. Ned Lamont said. Track and trace is easier because contacts are a much narrower group of people.

“Right now, we're focused on those populations that have had close personal contact with somebody who's been infected,” Lamont said. “We've got the vaccines necessary to take care of you. And we'll also have all the testing capacity we need.”

Connecticut identified its first monkeypox case July 5 and to date there have been 28 total cases. New York has more than 1,200 cases and Massachusetts has more than 100, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

All the state’s cases are men and almost all identify as LGBTQ+, state Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani said. The median age for patients so far is 36-years-old, and all patients are between the ages of 20 and 49.

“What I do want to make clear though, is that anybody who has skin to skin contact with somebody who has had monkeypox could potentially get monkeypox,” she said.

Connecticut has been allocated about 1,800 vaccine doses, and more are expected in the future, Juthani said.

Related: 5 Things To Know About Monkeypox In CT

Here’s how the testing and contact tracing works:

A person with a suspected case goes to a doctor and a skin lesion sample is taken. The sample is sent to a lab for testing. DPH and local health departments get notified of positive cases and will contact the infected person.

The infected person may be eligible for medication. Health officials will also collect information on potential contacts for contact tracing purposes.

Anyone who is identified as a close contact is monitored for 21 days. The CDC recommends vaccine consideration for contacts with high or intermediate level of exposure.

“If you already have monkeypox if you already have lesions, you are not qualified to receive the vaccine because now you are a case,” Juthani said. “So the goal is to try to get as many people as possible before they actually break out with a rash.”