Des Moines County to see arrival of monkeypox vaccines, Omicron boosters and flu shots soon

Des Moines County Public Health expects to have monkeypox vaccine available by early September, and the arrival of omicron vaccine boosters likely won't be far behind.

Des Moines County Public Health Administrator Christa Poggemiller said her office anticipates that doses of the monkeypox vaccine will arrive "in the next week or so."

Poggemiller noted that vaccine will be given only to those who are eligible per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

"It's really geared toward people who meet the eligibility," Poggemiller said.

The CDC recommends that people who have been exposed to the disease and those who are more likely to become infected with monkeypox get the vaccine. Those individuals include:

• People who have been identified by public health officials as a contact of someone with monkeypox;

• People who are aware that one of their sexual partners in the past two weeks has been diagnosed with monkeypox;

• People who had multiple sexual partners in the past two weeks in an area with known monkeypox; and

• People whose jobs may expose them to orthopoxviruses (smallpox, cowpox, horsepox, camelpox, and monkeypox). Those individuals include laboratory workers who perform testing for that class of viruses and/or handle cultures or animals with orthopoxviruses and some designated healthcare or public health workers.

The risk for monkeypox exposure in southeast Iowa remains relatively low. As of Monday, southeast Iowa was the only region in Iowa without any reported cases of the disease, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health.

There have been 10 cases in central Iowa, three in east Iowa, one in southwest Iowa, one in northeast Iowa and two in northwest Iowa.

Previously: Des Moines County's COVID cases fall 32.2%; Iowa cases fall 8.3%

How is monkeypox spread and what are the symptoms?

The monkeypox virus is spread through close, intimate contact with someone who has the virus.

Close contact includes direct contact with monkeypox sores or rashes and contact with respiratory droplets or oral fluids from someone with monkeypox, especially for those who are around someone with monkeypox for an extended period of time.

The virus also can be spread through direct contact with objects or fabrics that have been used by someone with the disease.

"... anyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, who has been in close, personal contact with someone who has monkeypox is at risk," according to the CDC.

Symptoms develop about 12 days after a person has been exposed but may be as early as five days and as late as 21 days.

Symptoms can include fever, headache, muscle and back aches, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, and a rash that can look like pimples or blisters on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body.

Illness can last as long as four weeks. While most people who become infected with monkeypox do not experience serious complications, they should stay home until they no longer are infectious.

Previously: Monkeypox remains a focal point for Louisa County Public Health: 'We're staying on top of it'

Omicron vaccines expected to be available this fall

Poggemiller said Des Moines County Public Health also expects to have bivalent booster doses that target two COVID-19 subvariants sometime this fall.

"We have pre-ordered it, but we haven't received emergency-use authorization for it yet, and we have not received the vaccine," Poggemiller said. "It's more geared toward the BA.4 and BA.5 variants for the fall and winter seasons."

Both Moderna and Pfizer BioNTech are waiting for the Food and Drug Administration to sign off on emergency-use authorization for their respective Omicron vaccines, which target the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants responsible for the nationwide rise in COVID cases.

"We have seen a little bit of an uptick (in COVID cases in Des Moines County), because obviously with the Omicron, it's highly contagious," Poggemiller said. "But most of those for people who are up-to-date with the vaccine have had mild cases."

Between Aug. 21 and Sunday, Des Moines County saw an additional 55 cases of confirmed COVID-19, according to the CDC, but that number is likely much higher as it does not account for rapid, at-home tests.

Poggemiller said Pfizer's bivalent booster is anticipated to be available for people ages 12 and older, while Moderna's will be for those 18 and older.

Poggemiller said her office still has plenty of vaccine available for those still in need of their primary or non-Omicron-specific booster doses.

The CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccines for everyone six months and older, as well as one booster for everyone 5 years and older, if eligible.

Two boosters are recommended for people 50 and older, as well as some people aged 12 and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised.

"The CDC recommendation is to go ahead and get any boost dose that you're available for just to stay up-to-date, because that decreases the severity of the illness or possibly preventing from getting it at all," Poggemiller said.

The demand for vaccines in Des Moines County has slowed in recent months.

"It seems like the COVID vaccine definitely has slowed down quite a bit," Poggemiller said. "I think a lot of people are maybe waiting for this new bivalent boost to come out that's focused on the omicron variant."

It is yet unclear how much time must pass between when a person gets a boost dose and when that person will be able to get the Omicron booster.

"So if someone, say they're over 50 and would've gotten their second boost dose recently, we don't have that time frame yet," Poggemiller said. "We'll get that once they make that final recommendation and give us the emergency-use authorization for that vaccine, which we anticipate to be in the near future."

More: New COVID-19 cases down, hospitalizations up in Iowa's weekly coronavirus data update

Don't forget your flu shot

Poggemiller said vaccines for the upcoming influenza season will be available about mid-September and advised that people don't put it off.

"We encourage people to get it as soon as it's available, because for it to be effective, it takes about two weeks, and we don't want anyone exposed to the flu," Poggemiller said.

Flu infections occur year-round, but they are most common during the fall and winter, increasing in October and peaking between December and February.

As with the COVID vaccine, getting a flu shot won't provide complete protection against the flu, but infections among those who get the vaccine will be less severe.

To stay up to date on vaccine and other public health information, visit Des Moines County Public Health's new website, dmcountyboardofhealth.iowa.gov.

Michaele Niehaus covers business, development, environment and agriculture for The Hawk Eye. She can be reached at mniehaus@thehawkeye.com.

This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: What to know about monkeypox, omicron vaccines in Des Moines County