Get Immunized
Getting immunized is easy. Vaccines are available at the doctor’s office or pharmacies — and are usually covered by insurance.
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Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) is a rare disease caused by monkeypox virus, a virus related to the virus that causes smallpox. The two-dose mpox vaccine helps protect against mpox.
The mpox vaccine can protect against severe illness, hospitalization, and death. For the best protection, get both doses of the two-dose JYNNEOS mpox vaccine. The second dose should be at least 4 weeks (28 days) after the first dose.
Mpox is a rare disease caused by infection with the mpox virus. This virus is part of the same family of viruses as the variola virus, which causes smallpox. Mpox and smallpox have similar symptoms, but mpox has milder symptoms and it is rarely fatal. Mpox is not related to chickenpox.
Find up-to-date information about mpox, including the current situation, how it spreads, signs and symptoms, and more from CDC, opens in a new tab.
CDC recommends getting the mpox vaccine if you:
CDC also recommends vaccination for people who anticipate certain sexual activities during travel to countries with ongoing human-to-human transmission, regardless of sex identity or sexual orientation. At this time, these countries include Burundi, CAR, DRC, ROC, Rwanda, and Uganda; as this outbreak continues to evolve, these countries may change. Please check CDC’s Mpox Vaccine Recommendations, opens in a new tab page for the latest list of countries for which this recommendation applies. Sexual activities include:
All travelers to these countries should avoid close contact with people who are sick with signs and symptoms of mpox, including those with skin or genital lesions.
Two doses provide the best protection. Get dose 1, wait 4 weeks (28 days), and then get dose 2. If you can’t get your second dose on time, you should get it as soon as possible to complete the series. You will have maximum protection two weeks after your second dose.
After vaccination, continue to avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with someone with mpox and get the second dose four weeks after the first dose.
Not everyone has side effects, but some people have side effects after mpox vaccination. The most common side effects are pain, redness, and itching at the spot where you received the vaccine.
You might also experience the following symptoms, which mean your immune system is responding to the vaccine:
When some people receive the mpox vaccine between the layers of the skin (intradermally), they report less pain after vaccination but more side effects like itching, swelling, redness, thickening of the skin, and skin discoloration. Some of these side effects may last for several weeks. If you have concerns about receiving the vaccine intradermally, you can ask to get the vaccine underneath the skin on the back of your upper arm (subcutaneously).
The mpox vaccine can reduce the risk of mpox disease, and two doses provide the best protection, regardless of where you receive the vaccine.
Find detailed information about JYNNEOS on the Vaccine Information Statement (VIS).
Getting immunized is easy. Vaccines are available at the doctor’s office or pharmacies — and are usually covered by insurance.