Lack of access to monkeypox vaccines and tests threatens to hinder colleges and universities in the hardest-hit U.S. states as they plan to beat back a feared campus surge later this year.
Health administrators at schools nationwide are largely relying on educational measures as they prepare for the return of students for the fall semester. Some campuses have testing available at their medical centers, yet none reported requirements for students to get shots or undergo testing.
While the monkeypox outbreak has mainly spread among men who have sex with men, people of all ages and sexual orientations are vulnerable if they come into contact with infectious lesions. College campuses, where contact sports, communal showers, and sexual activity are common, have been implicated in the spread of infections that follow similar routes, such as drug-resistant MRSA bacteria, said Jay Varma, director of the Weill Cornell Center for Pandemic Prevention and Response.
