The Biden administration announced a $20 million contract with drug distribution company AmerisourceBergen to speed up delivery of monkeypox vaccines and treatments nationwide.
The US has already shipped about 800,000 doses of the two-shot Jynneos vaccine, and the contract announced Tuesday will allow for up to 2,500 shipments per week of frozen JYNNEOS vaccines.
More than 352,000 monkeypox vaccine doses have already been administered throughout the United States, according to the CDC.
TPOXX, a therapeutic originally approved for smallpox that is believed to be effective against monkeypox, will also be distributed under the $20 million contract.
MONKEYPOX IN AMERICA: WHO'S AT RISK AND WHY?
"Responding to the monkeypox outbreak requires close collaboration between the federal government, states, tribes, and localities," HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. "With today’s action, we ensure our local partners receive these critical tools more easily and quickly."
About 20,000 monkeypox cases have been reported throughout the United States since the first infections were detected in May, though new cases have abated recently.
The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed the first death in the US of someone with monkeypox, though health officials were investigating what role the virus played in the patient's death.
