New Hampshire health officials are expecting to receive a limited number of doses of the monkeypox vaccine sometime next week.
The federal government first sent the vaccine to parts of the country with the highest number of cases and populations at risk, which did not include New Hampshire.
New Hampshire has only identified one case of monkeypox. States like New York and Illinois, where over 90 cases have been reported, have already received shipments. The vaccine supply ran out in a matter of hours at a New York City clinic late last month, according to the New York Times.
A spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services says they will be able to vaccinate 131 people with the upcoming shipment.
The state plans to prioritize vaccines for people who were exposed to those with confirmed monkeypox virus infections, as well as some public health response workers.
Transmission of monkeypox typically involves close physical or intimate contact, according to health officials.
Monkeypox symptoms include fever, rash and swelling, and the illness lasts a few weeks. Symptoms are usually mild, but state officials say a more severe illness can, in rare cases, require hospitalization.
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