MonkeyPox Vaccine works, but bad batch given to soldiers

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

December 14, 2022 – In what is being described as a testament to vaccine efficacy only four months ago, in August,  the United States was in the throes of the worst Monkeypox outbreak it had ever seen averaging more than 500 cases a day and now the country is down to less than a dozen cases daily according the U.S. Centres For Disease Control.

Additionally it has just announced it will not renew the emergency declaration for Monkeypox when it expires on January 31 of next year.

An article from USA Today explained that while doctors who spoke to the media house are worried that the disease will never leave the country completely and may mutate by passing from humans to animals and back again the swift drop proves that the ‘vaccine and treatments are effective’.

Doctors credit members of the worst affected communities for stepping up getting vaccinated for the disease.  But not all stories regarding Mpox vaccines are so positive.  Israeli soldiers who thought they were being protected were given vaccines that were not fit for use according to a report by a local news agency Haaretz.

The News agency says an internal army investigation found that not only was the date on the packaging misleading, the vaccines had also been left out of proper storage.   11 soldiers had been vaccinated with the faulty shots but showed no symptoms after the discovery was made.

No vaccines for Monkeypox were sent to the Turks and Caicos and no cases have officially been recorded by the Health Ministry.  The Ministry did promise that they were working on the capability to detect COVID-19 and Monkeypox in-country but residents are still waiting for an update.