Does My Smallpox Shot Protect Me Against Monkeypox?
People wait to receive monkeypox vaccine at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital And Trauma Center.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergHi folks, it’s Kristen in New York. Last week’s Sunday Q&A prompted a follow-up question from many readers. But first...
Does the smallpox vaccine that older folks received offer any immunity to monkeypox? — Joan Tosh, Port Chester, New York
Monkeypox has quickly become a major global concern. This past week, the US officially declared it a public health emergency, freeing up funding to fight the virus as cases increase. The World Health Organization has also deemed it a public health emergency.
But the vast majority of cases have still been in men who have sex with men (though that could change). Last week, that prompted a reader to ask who should seek out monkeypox vaccines. In response, many of you, including Joan, wondered whether you already had protection from having received smallpox vaccines, which were included among routine childhood vaccinations in the US until 1972. The WHO declared the world free of smallpox in 1980.