SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - As the U.S. continues to control the outbreak of monkeypox, University of California San Diego is taking part in a new trial to see if we can spread out our existing vaccine supply.
UCSD is one of eight sites across the country to see if those who are most at risk for the virus can still be inoculated with a lower dosage and still have the same immune response.
“What we’re doing there is to look at whether or not people can take a lower dose of the one that’s already approved for monkeypox has the same amount of immune responses,” Dr. Davey Smith, Chief of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UCSD, said.
This new NIH study will determine if our current supply of vaccines can be spread wide and if that lower dosage is effective.
“It looks like that it could quadruple that amount of vaccines that we have. We don’t have enough. There’s, we just don’t have enough,” Smith said.
Doctor Anthony Fauci said in a release about this NIH study, “To halt the global outbreak of monkeypox and to help protect those at risk of infection, we need to ensure we have an adequate supply of monkeypox vaccine.”
According to the NIH release regarding the study, adults between 18 to 50 years old who've not been vaccinated for smallpox or monkeypox are eligible to enroll in the study and will receive the vaccine for the virus. It says, "Participants will be assigned at random to one of three study arms:
- One arm will receive the standard, licensed regimen of 1x108 infectious virus particles administered subcutaneously.
- Another arm will receive 2x107 infectious virus particles (one-fifth of the standard regimen) administered intradermally, the regimen recently authorized by the FDA.
- A third arm will receive one-tenth (1x107 infectious virus particles) of the standard regimen of JYNNEOS administered intradermally."
This study’s seemingly timely follow the most recent monkeypox-related death in LA County last week.
“Boy, the NIH has really pushed things pretty quickly, so that’s good. And we are seeing some rewards to our efforts because the case numbers are going down. And, hopefully, they keep going down as we continue to have more people vaccinated,” Smith said.
Smith said people can enroll in this trial now. He told ABC 10News is taking part in another NIH trial that’ll look at the efficacy of experimental therapies for someone who has gotten monkeypox.
Smith said if someone is in the high-risk group, which is men who have sex with men in San Diego, to call the Antiviral Research Center at UCSD and then get on the list to see if they’re eligible for the trials.
