The Coastal Health District received its first shipment of Jynneos, a vaccine for prevention of monkeypox disease. Vaccinations will begin on Monday, August 1st, to qualifying individuals - appointments are required. 

Initially, appointments will only be available at the Chatham County Health Department’s main clinic at 1395 Eisenhower Drive, though additional locations will be added as vaccine supply increases.

 Appointments can be self-scheduled online at coastalhealthdistrict.org/monkeypox. You must have an appointment – there is no walk-up availability. Appointments are expected to fill quickly, and additional appointments will be added as more vaccine arrives. 

To be eligible for monkeypox vaccination at this time, individuals must be at least 18 years of age and meet the following criteria:  

*Individual is a gay male, a bisexual male, or a male that has sex with other males. 

* Individual has had a sexual partner in the past 14 days who has received a monkeypox diagnosis OR had multiple sexual partners in the past 14 days in an area with known monkeypox. 

*Individual currently does NOT have signs or symptoms consistent with a monkeypox infection (fever, headache, muscle ache, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, or a rash/blisters on the face, inside of the mouth, or on other parts of the body). 

Jynneos is given in a two-dose series, administered four weeks apart. 

More information is available on the website of the Coastal Health District at coastalhealthdistrict.org/monkeypox and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at cdc.gov/monkeypox.