A local nonprofit is offering monkeypox vaccines in South Dallas for high-risk individuals.
Abounding Prosperity Inc. announced that it has acquired 300 doses of the vaccine.
The vaccine clinic, located at the HOPE Health and Wellness Center at 1619 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., is open to eligible individuals by appointment only. To make an appointment, visit the Monkeypox Vaccine Eligibility Pre-Screener.
Clinic hours are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every Thursday and Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday.
Persons who have been diagnosed with monkeypox or who currently exhibit symptoms of the illness are not eligible for the vaccine.
Individuals who have had “close, intimate, skin-to-skin contact with someone who has tested positive for monkeypox” or men 18 years old and up who have sex with men and who have had multiple or anonymous sex partners in the past 14 days are eligible for the vaccine.
“The limited supply of monkeypox vaccines is concerning for medically underserved communities and individuals at highest risk, as they are less likely to have access to care or the vaccine,” said Kirk Myers-Hill, founder and chief executive officer at Abounding Prosperity Inc. “Hosting this clinic in South Dallas makes it easy for individuals to obtain the vaccine in their neighborhood. It is imperative for as many people as possible to take the vaccine to reach immunity.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that the monkeypox outbreak “has spread across several countries that don’t normally report monkeypox, including the United States.”
Monkeypox is a virus that primarily spreads through close, intimate contact with someone who has the virus. The CDC recommends vaccination for those who have been exposed to the virus and those who are at high risk of exposure.
The vaccine offered by Abounding Prosperity Inc., JYNNEOS, is the only FDA-approved monkeypox vaccine in the U.S.
There are currently 1,048 cases of monkeypox in Texas. As of Tuesday, Dallas County had reported 348 confirmed cases of monkeypox.
Abounding Prosperity Inc. was founded in November 2005 with the “express purpose of responding to social and health disparities” in the community.
The organization said it initially received 300 doses of the monkeypox vaccine from Dallas County Health and Human Services, and the doses will be administered at the clinic until they are depleted.
