Local, state, and territorial health departments, as well as tribal governments and local non-governmental organizations, can partner together and begin submitting requests to access monkeypox vaccine through the recently announced Monkeypox Vaccine Equity Pilot Program.
This new pilot program is intended to reach populations that may face barriers to monkeypox vaccination, which may include differences in language, location of vaccination sites, vaccine hesitancy, mistrust of government, lack of access to on-line scheduling technology, accessibility/disability issues, immigration status, and stigma.
Up to 50,000 doses of JYNNEOS vaccine have been allocated for the Monkeypox Vaccine Equity Pilot program. Successful proposals will demonstrate new, innovative ways to reach populations that are most affected by monkeypox based on local or national data. Projects should prioritize groups:
- with risk factors that increase their chances of getting or spreading monkeypox,
- who are over-represented among monkeypox cases and less likely to be vaccinated, and
- whose barriers to vaccination may be addressed by the activities proposed.
Special consideration will be given to projects addressing disparities among Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people who face barriers in accessing vaccines. Examples include pop-ups and other events associated with community-based organizations (CBOs) or clinics that work with MSM and transgender people, especially those who are Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino, who are not reached by current allocations or vaccine administration channels
This new pilot, which is in addition to the large event program, seeks to break down barriers and address disparities in communities where differences in monkeypox vaccination have been identified.
