How can I get vaccinated in D. C.?

D.C. residents who meet the criteria have a few options. They can register in advance for vaccine appointments at <a href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.com%2Fv3%2F__http%3A%2Fpreventmonkeypox.dc.gov%2F__%3B!!M9LbjjnYNg9jBDflsQ!F8buumCVdxI-F6jbAXGIav4LQdDCj2Rls8tnV9mgsKA6eAK4c7CjEH2kWTwUt0fIw8E_JafXpMCOeiFLXDChyJAQ%24&data=05%7C01%7Civory.lee%40dc.gov%7C6ebdd6f0fac142d54e7408da7598c271%7C8fe449f18b944fb799066f939da82d73%7C0%7C0%7C637951596210382345%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=bp4Om%2B33PVv%2B45QYqKpjLR6pp3luUypMlaKgvHy%2FL24%3D&reserved=0">preventmonkeypox.dc.gov , and await an invitation from the city to make an appointment. Personal information is kept confidential. Qualifying residents who don’t have access to online scheduling or feel uncomfortable using a government-run website may attend D.C.'s walk-in clinics. Every Friday, while supplies last, D.C. Health will make some monkeypox vaccinations available on a first-come, first-served basis. Vaccinations will be offered from noon to 8 p.m., pending availability, and each clinic will have a daily allotment of 300 doses. The walk-up clinics will be held at three sites: 3640 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE in Ward 8; 7530 Georgia Ave. NW in Ward 4; and 1900 I St. NW in Ward 2.

Who is eligible for a vaccine in D. C.?

The vaccine is available for District residents who are 18 or older and are men who have had sex with men and have had multiple or anonymous sexual partners in the past 14 days; transgender women or nonbinary people assigned male at birth who have sex with men; sex workers; or staff at bathhouses, saunas and sex clubs. Proof of residency is required and can include an identification card with a D.C. address; a utility bill or other mail showing the vaccine seeker’s name and D.C. address; or a current D.C. lease or mortgage that includes the person’s name. Vaccine appointments are always free. D.C. officials say they are prioritizing vaccine access for at-risk populations in hopes of curbing the spread of the virus so they won’t have to expand eligibility to other groups.

I live in Virginia, how can I get vaccinated?

The Virginia Department of Health says local health departments are reaching out to people with known exposure or high risk of developing monkeypox to prioritize appointments for those most vulnerable to infection. A locator tool on the VDH website will provide the location and contact information for your local health district office. Some local health departments ask residents who meet the criteria to fill out preregistration forms, including Alexandria City , Arlington and Loudoun counties. Fairfax County residents who were exposed to or at high risk for monkeypox should contact the county health department call center at 703-267-3511. Staff will share a link to a screening form and eligible residents will then be put into a queue to schedule a vaccination appointment as vaccines become available.

I live in Maryland, how can I get vaccinated?

The Maryland Health Department has allocated the most doses to jurisdictions that report the highest incidence of known monkeypox cases and exposures. Individuals who believe they are eligible for vaccination should contact their local health department. Montgomery County asks residents who are interested in receiving a monkeypox vaccine and those who believe they were exposed to monkeypox in the previous two weeks to complete a preregistration survey. In Prince George’s County, vaccine appointments filled up quickly, but officials said as more doses become available, slots will be added. The county health department will also host a virtual monkeypox town hall discussion from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 10, to share information about prevention, testing, treatment and vaccination. Registration is open.

Is there enough vaccine to go around?

Vaccine supplies are limited, especially outside of hotspots such as D.C., and public health officials are prioritizing those most at-risk for developing the virus. Federal officials on Thursday said they were taking steps to improve access to Jynneos, the only vaccine approved to protect against the virus in two doses. By early August, the United States only had enough doses on hand to fully vaccinate about one-third of those at highest risk; another 150,000 doses should arrive in September. The shortage prompted D.C. and New York City to give out only one dose for now and push the federal government to make enough vaccines available to give second doses, which is the recommended course.

How to get a monkeypox vaccine in the D.C. region

By Jenna Portnoy

August 5, 2022 at 3:06 p.m. EDT

A sign outside a D.C. Health monkeypox vaccine clinic. Three D.C. Health clinics began offering limited walk-up monkeypox vaccinations, pending on vaccine availability, for eligible residents on Aug. 5. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Comment

Even before the first U.S. case of monkeypox was confirmed in Massachusetts in mid-May, D.C. public health officials were preparing for an influx of infections.

The District soon recorded more cases per capita than any state, and launched an aggressive vaccination effort to blanket the at-risk community in protection. The federal government gave the city and other hotspots priority access to vaccines. But a nationwide shortage has left much of the gay and bisexual community — most cases are among men who have sex with men — awaiting doses as infection spreads.

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The federal government this week declared monkeypox a “public health emergency” to shake loose funding and bolster its response to the rapidly spreading virus, which is shared through close personal contact and has so far predominantly infected men who have sex with men. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data showed more than 7,100 cases had been recorded across the country as of early August, a total that has doubled about every eight days and which experts say is a significant undercount.