The state will begin sending a limited supply of the monkeypox vaccine to the Rio Grande Valley, Hidalgo County officials announced Thursday.
The vaccines will be sent for purposes of vaccinating high risk communities, the county said in a news release. They assured this is only a preventive measure as there have been no verified cases in the Valley.
The monkeypox doses could arrive in Hidalgo County as early as this week, the release said, with additional doses to be shipped to Cameron, Starr, and Willacy counties.
Early next week, county officials from all four counties will begin making the doses available to high risk populations. They said information about where those doses can be obtained will be relayed at a later time.
There are currently about 780 confirmed cases of monkeypox throughout the state, the county said, adding that health officials warn that anyone can contract monkeypox if they’re directly exposed to someone with the virus.
They note that monkeypox is not considered fatal but symptoms can include pustules that can be painful and disfiguring.
