Monkeypox: Testing and Vaccination

June 3, 2022

Update: September 12, 2022

Vaccine Update

Monkeypox Vaccine Eligibility has been updated on 9-5-2022.

For those patients elegible for second doses: Call 215-563-0658.

The city is providing Mazzoni Center with the monkeypox vaccine, JYNNEOS, weekly for current patients who are eligible for the vaccine. Mazzoni Center is currently seeing patients by appointment daily. If you believe that you meet the eligibility, please reach out to us via phone or patient portal. Thank you.

Here are some other locations where the vaccine will be available for patients:

   - Philadelphia FIGHT
   - Presbyterian Hospital
   - Drexel Partnership
   - PennMedicine

Accessing a Monkeypox Vaccine

For Mazzoni Center patients who are at risk of exposure to monkeypox:

If you meet the eligibility criteria and do NOT have any monkeypox symptoms please reach out to your provider or call 215-563-0658. You will be invited to the next vaccine clinic.

For community members who are not patients:

Call the Philadelphia Department of Public Health at 215-685-5488 to talk to a health department representative about a recent exposure or getting a vaccine.

Check this website for updates if you do not meet the current eligibility. The eligibility for who can be vaccinated will change as more vaccine becomes available.

Monkeypox Testing

If you have concerns about recent exposure to monkeypox, please contact your provider via phone or patient portal. Due to the infectious nature of this virus, please call the office first and do not walk into our facility.

For non-patients, testing and treatment services are available by appointment at District Health Centers.

Monkeypox and Philadelphia

On July 23, the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a “public health emergency of international concern.” Our goal is to provide information about monkeypox without contributing to stigma. Monkeypox can affect anyone, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. Currently, Philadelphia’s monkeypox cases make up more than half of the 61 cases reported in Pennsylvania.

We here at Mazzoni Center want you to know the facts and risks:

Monkeypox: Get the Facts

Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by the monkeypox virus it can make you sick including a rash or sores (pox), often with an earlier flu-like illness

Monkeypox can spread to anyone through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact including:

Direct contact with monkeypox rash, sores, or scabs
Contact with objects, fabrics (clothing, bedding, or towels), and surfaces that have been used by someone with monkeypox
Through respiratory droplets or oral fluids from a person with monkeypox

This contact can happen during intimate sexual contact including:

Oral, anal, and vaginal sex or touching the genitals or anus of a person with monkeypox
Hugging, massaging, or kissing and talking closely
Touching fabrics and objects during sex that a person used with monkeypox, such as bedding, towels, and sex toys

We know the virus can be spread in fluid or pus from monkeypox sores, and are trying to better understand if the virus could be present in semen, vaginal fluids, or other body fluids.

What Are the Symptoms?

Early flu-like symptoms of monkeypox can include:

Fever
Headache
Muscle aches and backache
Swollen lymph nodes
Chills
Exhaustion

A rash or sores, sometimes located on or near the genitals or anus, but sometimes in other areas like the hands, feet, chest, or face – sores will go through several stages before healing
Sores may be inside the body, including the mouth, vagina, or anus
Some people experience a rash or sores first, followed by other symptoms, and some only experience a rash or sores
Monkeypox can be spread from the time symptoms start until all sores have healed and a fresh layer of skin has formed – this can take several weeks

If You Have a New or Unexplained Rash, Sores, or Other Symptoms...

See your healthcare provider – if you don’t have a provider or health insurance, visit a public health clinic near you.
When you see a healthcare provider for possible monkeypox, remind them that this virus is circulating in the community.
Avoid sex or being intimate with anyone until you have been checked out

If You or Your Partner Have Monkeypox...

Follow the treatment and prevention recommendations of your healthcare provider.
Avoid sex or being intimate with anyone until all your sores have healed and you have a fresh layer of skin formed.