Italy has started monkeypox
vaccinations with the first jabs being given at Rome's
Spallanzani Hospital Monday followed by others in Bologna and
the rest of Emilia-Romagna starting Tuesday.
The other two priority regions, Lombardy and Veneto, will begin
giving out doses of the vaccine later this week.
The number of monkeypox cases in Italy rose by 54 Tuesday, to
599.
On July 23 the World Health Organization said monkeypox was a
"global health emergency".
The vaccination campaign is not a mass effort like the COVID one
but is instead directed at persons at greatest risk of infection
such as gays, transgender, bisexuals and other men who h ave sex
with men, as well as lab staff with possible exposure to the
orthopoxvirus.
The Spallanzani is Italy's premier infectious disease hospital
and treated the first COVID-19 patients in early 2020.
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