HOUSTON — Days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned about a possible resurgence of mpox this summer, the Houston Health Department said mpox vaccines are available to everyone.
Those wanting a vaccination can call the Harris County Public Health hotline at 832-927-0707 to make an appointment.
After months of a low nationwide transmission rate of the virus, there’s an outbreak in Chicago. There are still cases being reported in Houston, too.
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a virus in the smallpox family. Last year, there was an unusual global outbreak. Since then more than 30,000 cases have been reported in the U.S. – including about 3,000 in Texas - a majority are men who have sex with men.
There is a vaccine that appears to work very well. The CDC published a new study that shows how effective they are.
“Eighty-six percent effective for two shots, 75% effective for one shot, 0% effective for zero shots,” said gastroenterologist Dr. Carlton Thomas. “The best thing that you can do right now to stay ahead of this if you have any risk factors at all for getting mpox, is to get fully vaccinated.”
The Houston Health Department said it’s seeing about 1 new mpox case per week.