Norton Healthcare is hosting its first monkeypox vaccine clinic Saturday.
It’s at the health care system’s vaccine site at 1001 Breckenridge Lane, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments are required and can be made here.
Dr. Kristina Bryant, a specialist with Norton Children's Infectious Diseases Institute, said unlike COVID-19 vaccines, which are recommended for the general public, only people with higher risk of exposure should get the two-shot monkeypox vaccine series.
“This is not a vaccine for all adults. It's not a vaccine for all sexually active people. It is not a vaccine for all health care workers,” Bryant said at a news conference Friday. “We are really trying to reach people who are aware that one of their sexual partners in the last two weeks has been diagnosed with monkeypox, people who've had multiple sexual partners in the last two weeks, who are in an area with monkeypox.”
Bryant said the vaccine is also recommended for people who take medication to help prevent HIV.
Monkeypox is spread through close contact, and can include flu-like symptoms and a rash.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported just under 17,000 cases in the U.S., as of Thursday, including 26 in Kentucky.
