“They” are saying that the same smallpox vaccine that the more mature among us got in our youth, also protects against monkeypox. I have questions:
(1) It’s been 50 or more years since a lot of us have had that vax. Does the immunity last for life? If there is an outbreak of smallpox or monkeypox are we still protected?
(2) Will “the authorities” begin to recommend that smallpox vaccinations be rebooted and everyone get one who hasn’t already? And if we had the vax way back in the Before Times, do we need a re-vax now?
(3) Will there be a separate vaccine developed that specifically targets monkeypox more effectively even than smallpox vaccine?
ETA: And the anti-vaxxers! Won’t somebody think of the anti-vaxxers? What will they say?
“Immunity” from a vaccine is never absolute, and it never goes completely away. A person who got the vaccine 50 years ago is significantly less protected than someone who got it this year, but they’re also still more protected than someone who never got it.
If there were an outbreak of smallpox, or a related disease, would it be a really good idea to get re-vaccinated? Of course. But the lingering protection still isn’t nothing.
Yes, there may be some lingering immunity but if there’s a large enough outbreak we all need to worry then if you can get re-vaccinated that would be best. Residual immunity is better than nothing at all but may not be sufficient either to prevent illness or to prevent bad outcomes and/or death.
There are several problems with the smallpox vaccine:
limited doses/not enough for everyone
high complication rate, significantly higher than any other vaccine in use
some of the complications are pretty awful
there are a huge swathe of people for whom the vaccine is contraindicated, including the usual “anyone with a compromised immune system” but also anyone with a history of eczema (even if it’s in remission), and anyone with a problem that that disrupts the skin, from burns to severe acne to psoriasis to a bunch of other problems
Yes.
I mean no, not right now, but if there’s a significant outbreak yes.
Although if you have one of the above contra-indications the question of vaccinating or not can get very complicated.
As monkeypox is not as nasty a disease as smallpox (although still not something you want to get), not as contagious, can now be treated with anti-virals, and aside from the occasional case/outbreak largely confined to Africa… probably not. It wouldn’t be cost effective, especially since the people most at risk - in Africa - tend not to have a lot of money to interest Big Pharma. While you and I might think this is sad or morally suspect, that is how the world works these days.
In the meantime, Hansen’s disease (FKA leprosy) and malaria have shown up in the southeastern U.S. I suspect that many of the cases, especially of the former, for which 95% of the human race is genetically immune and is the least infectious of all communicable diseases, were correctly diagnosed.
I strongly suspect that many of the “new” cases of Hansen’s disease, and that it appears to be a “new” outbreak, came from a doctor who had seen the disease before, and correctly identified and diagnosed it.
Your post was confusing, because you started out essentially, “Since the vast majority of people are immune I expect these people were correctly diagnosed.” One didn’t seem to follow from the other; if it’s so unlikely that people would be able to catch it, you’d think it’s less likely that they have it. I thought you had made a typo. I appreciate the clarification.
I also wanted to state that while Hansen’s disease was a feared disease for many centuries (and rightfully so), most people couldn’t get it even if they wanted to.
