More than 2,000 monkeypox vaccines have arrived in Tennessee. Now what?

Access to the monkeypox vaccine remains limited in Tennessee, despite more than 2,000 doses being delivered to the state.

Federal records, which are updated each week on Wednesdays, show that 2,101 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine were shipped to Tennessee as of last week. The state only has a handful of confirmed cases, but according to the state’s guidelines, the only people eligible for the vaccines are those deemed close contacts by case investigators.

The Metro Public Health Department has tracked six presumptive cases as of last week, with updated totals each Thursday. The Shelby County Health Department reported the first case in Memphis on Tuesday.

The outbreak has primarily surfaced among men who have sex with men. And in cities with hundreds of cases, local health departments have been offering the vaccine to those who are considered high risk. New York City has identified more than a thousand positive cases, but public health officials also don’t have enough vaccine doses for everyone who wants a shot.