The Mississippi State Department of Health has expanded eligibility for the two-dose monkeypox vaccine for those at high risk. As of Friday, the agency had identified 48 cases in the state, including three new ones that day, but no deaths so far.
Mississippians concerned they may have been exposed to Monkeypox should speak to their primary care provider about vaccination, with effective post-exposure vaccines available to individuals who meet certain criteria.
On July 23, 2022, the director-general of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern. “This decision by the WHO, though it may sound ominous, is not a sign of bad things to come. Rather, it is a way to prevent monkeypox from becoming a global crisis,” Global health expert Kathryn H. Jacobsen writes, who doesn’t think most people should worry about monkeypox.
The Mississippi State Department of Health confirmed the state’s first case of Monkeypox today following a worldwide viral outbreak that began in May. “Symptoms may start out as a fever, swollen lymph nodes, headache, and muscles aches, followed by a rash that starts out as flat and then advances to pimples, or blisters and ulcers on the face, body and private parts (sexual organs),” MSDH says.
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