by Kelsey Penrose

While monkeypox vaccines are being made available to high risk individuals in southern Nevada, in the north, vaccine appointments are still unavailable.

In mid-June, Vegas reported its first confirmed case of monkeypox. Since that time, the number has grown to 8 confirmed cases.

Monkeypox spreads through both close physical contact as well as through contact with objects or fabric that have been in contact with a person with the disease.

Symptoms of monkeypox include:

  • A rash that begins on the face before spreading across the body
  • Fever
  • Muscle aches and backaches
  • Headache
  • Exhaustion
  • Swollen lymph nodes

The rash can look like pimples, mosquito bites or blisters that can appear on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus.

Those who contract monkeypox typically show symptoms from between two to four weeks, and cases are often mild.

Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease, as it can be contracted through any sort of contact.

In the north, vaccines have not been made available yet, as only those who have been in close contact with an infection or are deemed high risk are being vaccinated currently.

“We are continuing to closely monitor the current outbreak of Monkeypox in the United States and in Nevada and we are in constant communications with the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, the CDC, local health authorities across the state, and local healthcare partners,” said Carson City Health and Human Services’ Jessica Rapp.

According to Rapp, Health and Human Services (HHS) has been shipping doses of the monkeypox vaccine to specific jurisdictions as part of an enhanced national vaccination strategy.

“This strategy is intended to help limit the spread of monkeypox in communities where transmission is highest and with populations most at risk,” said Rapp. “Currently, the CDC recommends vaccination for people who have been in close contact with people who have monkeypox.”

At this time, there have been no confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox within the Quad-County Region.

“Following the national vaccination strategy and the vaccine priority being communities with high transmission rates, most of the Nevada allocation went to Southern Nevada,” said Rapp. “The monkeypox vaccine is extremely limited and currently is not available to or recommended for the general public.”

As of Wednesday, every state has reported cases of monkeypox with the exception of Vermont, Montana, Wyoming and Alaska.

Cases are trending upward, but slowly. According to the CDC case trends, by the beginning of July, there were less than 50 cases reported daily nationwide. Now, 439 cases were reported on Monday alone.

The public will be notified if or when the monkeypox vaccine becomes available to the general population in the north, according to Rapp.

For more information about monkeypox, please visit the CDC website here.