Talk to your health care provider if you have a rash or other symptoms of mpox—even if you have been vaccinated or had mpox before. If you do not have a health care provider, call 2-1-1 to be connected to care, or contact the nearest federally qualified health center or one of Vermont's Free & Referral Clinics.
Learn more about mpox (CDC)
Vaccines
Vaccination is an important tool against mpox. Vaccines make it less likely you will get or spread mpox. Although no vaccine is 100% effective, getting vaccinated may help make the symptoms less severe, easier to manage, and prevent serious illness, hospitalization, and death if you become infected. People who are vaccinated should continue to avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with someone who has mpox.
Who is Eligible in Vermont
Vaccination is FREE and available regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or immigration status.
The following people can get vaccinated against mpox in Vermont:
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People who have or may have multiple or anonymous sex partners, or participate or may participate in group sex.
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People whose sex partners are eligible per the criteria above.
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People who know or suspect they have been exposed to mpox in the last 14 days.
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Anyone else who considers themselves to be at risk for mpox through sex or other intimate contact.
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Certain health care and laboratory personnel whose jobs regularly put them at high risk of exposure to the virus, such as performing testing or caring for multiple people infected with mpox.
Who is Recommended for Vaccination
In addition to the above vaccine eligibility criteria, the CDC recommends vaccines for those at higher risk of coming into contact with someone infected with mpox.
This includes if:
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You are a gay, bisexual, or other man who has sex with men or a transgender, nonbinary, or gender-diverse person who in the past 6 months has a new diagnosis of one or more sexually transmitted diseases (e.g., chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis) or more than one sex partner.
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In the past 6 months you have had sex at a commercial sex venue (like a sex club or bathhouse), sex related to a large commercial event or in a geographic area (city or county for example) where mpox virus transmission is occurring, or sex in exchange for money or other items.
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You have HIV or other causes of immune suppression and have had recent or anticipate future risk of mpox exposure.
More on CDC vaccination recommendations
Where to Get Vaccinated
Vaccination is FREE and available regardless of immigration status. Find a free mpox vaccine by using the vaccine locator below or talk to your health care provider. If for any reason you are unable to get to these locations, please contact your local health office to get vaccinated.
About the Vaccine
The JYNNEOS vaccine helps protect against mpox when given before or shortly after having close, personal contact with someone who is infected. The vaccine is two doses, given four weeks apart. JYNNEOS vaccine is often given intradermally (between the top layers of skin). This is because it can reduce pain after vaccination and requires a smaller dose to have a strong immune response.
It is recommended to get both doses for stronger protection against mpox. You can still get your second dose even if it has been more than four weeks since your first dose. Protection is highest two weeks after your second dose. No vaccine is 100% effective, and infections after vaccination are possible, but they may be milder and less likely to result in hospitalization. The CDC is still learning how long JYNNEOS vaccine protection lasts and if protection decreases over time.
Possible Vaccine Side Effects
Not everyone has side effects, but some people do. It is important to weigh possible side effects from the vaccine with the symptoms of a mpox infection, which could be painful and serious, and result in permanent scarring from the rash.
The most common side effects from JYNNEOS are pain, redness, and itching at the spot where the vaccine is given. You might also experience fever, headache, tiredness, nausea, chills, and muscle aches. Being vaccinated between the layers of your skin (intradermally) could lead other side effects, some of which might last for several weeks. These other side effects can include itching, swelling, redness, thickening of the skin, and skin discoloration at the spot where the vaccine was given.
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You can ask for the intradermal vaccination in a less visible location on your body than your forearm, such as the skin of your upper back or shoulder.
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Or instead you can ask to get vaccinated in the fat layer underneath the skin (subcutaneously) on the back of your upper arm (triceps). This method requires a larger dose to create a similarly strong immune response compared to vaccines given between the layers of your skin.
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If you have ever had keloid scars (thick, raised scars) or are under 18, the CDC recommends asking for the vaccine to be given to you subcutaneously.
Visit the CDC's website for more on vaccines for mpox
Treatment
Treatment is available if you are diagnosed with mpox and your health care provider determines that you need it. If you do not have a health care provider, call 2-1-1 to be connected to care, or contact the nearest federally qualified health center or one of Vermont's Free & Referral Clinics.
Communication Materials and Resources
Find our Mpox Partner Toolkit, printable poster, plus fact sheets and videos in translated in multiple languages.
Get social media content and other communication resources from the CDC
