The Vermont Department of Health is expanding eligibility criteria in the hopes of getting more people to get the monkeypox vaccine.
The agency says men who have sex with men who鈥檝e had more than one sexual partner, or expect to, are eligible. A representative with the health department says there鈥檚 no time period for that criteria.
罢丑补迟鈥檚 , as of the end of August.
Right now, the state has enough vaccines for around 1,000 people. 罢丑补迟鈥檚 since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed shots to be administered , rather than below the skin. That allows providers to get four doses out of each vial, rather than one, though it .
Multiple doses have to be used right away.
鈥淥nce we puncture a vial, we have to use it within eight hours,鈥� said Julie Arel, deputy commissioner of the Department of Health.
She said because of that limitation, they鈥檙e asking people to schedule vaccination appointments ahead of time.
Appointments are available at and , starting this week. They're also available to current patients of the Community Health Centers of Burlington and University of Vermont clinics.
So far, demand for the vaccine has been steady, but not overwhelming.
鈥淲e鈥檙e actually very hopeful now that we鈥檙e adding additional sites through our district offices that we鈥檒l be getting more shots in arms and that we鈥檒l start to see a real exponential increase,鈥� Arel said.
She added that once the state uses 85% of their vaccine supply, they can order more from the federal government.
Vermont has had just three confirmed cases of the virus.
Meanwhile, there have been documented across the country.
Lexi Krupp is a corps member for , a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and regions.
