The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is expanding the eligibility criteria for who can get vaccinated to protect themselves against monkeypox.
“Expanding who is eligible to get vaccinated against monkeypox is a critical step in preventing further spread of disease," said DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake. “It is encouraging to see that the rate of new monkeypox infections is slowing, and this decision allows for even more Wisconsinites to protect themselves against monkeypox. DHS strongly encourages anyone who is eligible to get vaccinated to do so.”
Wisconsinites who meet any of the following criteria, as outlined by the DHS, can get vaccinated for monkeypox
- Known contacts who are identified by public health through case investigation, contact tracing and risk exposure assessments
- Presumed contact who may meet the following criteria
- People who know that a sexual partner in the past 14 days was diagnosed with monkeypox
- People who attended an event or venue where there was known monkeypox exposure
- Gay men, bisexual men, trans men and women, any men who have sex with men, and gender non-conforming/ non-binary people who have had multiple sexual partners in the last 14 days
- People considered to have an elevated risk of exposure to monkeypox in the future
- Gay men, bisexual men, trans men and women, any men who have sex with men, and gender non-conforming/ non-binary people who expect to have multiple or anonymous sex partners. this may include people living with HIV and people who take HIV pre-exposure because of the increased risk of sexually transmitted infections
- Clinical laboratory personnel who perform testing to diagnose orthopoxviruses, including those who use polymerase chain reaction assays for diagnosis of orthopoxviruses, including monkeypox virus
- Research laboratory workers who directly handle cultures or animals contaminated or infected with orthopoxviruses that infect humans, including monkeypox virus, replication-competent vaccinia virus, or recombinant vaccinia viruses derived from replication-competent vaccinia virus strains
- Certain health care providers working in sexual health clinics or other specialty settings directly caring for patients with sexually transmitted infections
As of Sept. 6, 63 cases of monkeypox have been identified in Wisconsin.
There are currently 58 sites around Wisconsin administering the monkeypox vaccine, to find a location near you, visit dhs.wisconsin.gov.
