LATEST: Florida monkeypox briefing

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - The State Health Department now reports roughly 1300 monkeypox cases.

WCTV’s Staci Inez reported on the latest update on monkeypox in Florida and how this affects the community.

There are just three confirmed or probable cases of monkeypox in Leon County, according to health officials. The majority of the 1300 cases in Florida are in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, and 99 percent of cases have been found in men.

Doctor Ulyee Choe said the average age of people affected in the state right now is 38. As for the treatment, Dr. Choe said Florida received just under 65,000 vaccines and half of those doses have been sent to counties with the highest active cases.

”We’re hopeful in the next few weeks to the next month that we do get a little more of the vaccine, but again, we just converted to that intradermal approach, so I hope that opens the door to ease some of those disparities, supply and demand disparities,” Dr. Choe said.

In order to stretch the vaccine, it’s now going to be given under the skin instead of into the muscle, and the intradermal injection allows one dose to immunize up to five people.

There are at least 11,000 cases nationwide, but Dr. Choe said right now the cases in the US and throughout the state of Florida are still considered mild in terms of severity.

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