Mpox Vaccine

Vaccine supply for JYNNEOS is increasing in the United States but may be limited in some areas. Some health departments and other clinics will have a limited amount of vaccine for selected high-risk persons. Learn more about the JYNNEOS Mpox Vaccine Distribution by Jurisdiction.

The mpox pre-exposure vaccine should be offered to people with the highest potential for exposure to mpox such as:

• Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, transgender or nonbinary people who in the past 6 months have had:
  • A new diagnosis of one or more nationally reportable sexually transmitted diseases (i.e., acute HIV, chancroid, chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis)
  • More than one sex partner
• People who have had any of the following in the past 6 months:
  • Sex at a commercial sex venue
  • Sex in association with a large public event in a geographic area where mpox transmission is occurring
• Sexual partners of people with the above risks
• People who anticipate experiencing the above risks
• People who are deemed at higher risk for mpox infections by the managing clinician or other factors

Download What is JYNNEOS Vaccine for Mpox and Who is Eligible?

Visit Locations for a list of county health departments in Alabama.

The JYNNEOS vaccine is a two-dose vaccine series. The two doses are administered four weeks apart for maximum effectiveness. Someone who receives the JYNNEOS vaccine is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving their second dose. The JYNNEOS vaccine does not cause smallpox, mpox, or any other disease. Even after getting vaccinated, it is important to continue to take steps to protect yourself from getting sick with mpox. Avoid close, skin-to-skin contact, including intimate contact, with someone who has mpox.

Most people who receive the JYNNEOS vaccine will have only minor reactions like pain, redness, swelling, and itching at the injection site. In rare circumstances, people may experience muscle pain, headache, tiredness, nausea, chills, and fever.

Previous vaccination against smallpox may provide limited protection since both diseases are from the same family of viruses. People vaccinated against smallpox, in the past, will have some protection against mpox. People below the 40-50 age group are unlikely to have been inoculated against smallpox since vaccination ended in the world by 1980. Some people received the smallpox vaccine after 9/11 if they were first responders or medical personnel.

Persons who were previously vaccinated against smallpox, but have a reason to be vaccinated in this outbreak, due to mpox exposure or higher risk factors, should receive two doses of Jynneos. Persons administering Jynneos do not need to take the vaccine unless they have higher risk factors.