We are told that the Knox County Health Department has "plenty" of monkeypox vaccine available for higher risk individuals.

According to the CDC, high risk groups include people who have been exposed to monkeypox, people in certain occupations such as lab and health care workers, and "certain gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men, or transgender people, who have had any of the following within the past 14 days: sex with multiple partners (or group sex); sex at a commercial sex venue; or sex in association with an event, venue, or defined geographic area where monkeypox transmission is occurring."

We are also told that, for whatever reason, there is little outreach to at-risk individuals in the community who may not be aware of vaccine availability. To their credit, the Knoxville News Sentinel recently reported on the situation.

Although the outbreak in our area is very limited, higher risk individuals should know about preventive measures and should be aware that vaccines are readily available at the Knox County Health Department. Further, the Health Department should be able to reach out to the affected communities without any political interference like we saw during the COVID outbreak.