Experts warned that mpox cases are rising as vaccination stalls in the United States, according to an article published in CNN. Mpox, which spreads through close personal contact, can cause a slew of symptoms such as fevers, chills, exhaustion, headaches, muscle weakness, and a rash with raised lesions. As of March 16, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that there have been a total of 511 cases of mpox in 2024—an increase of over 70% compared with the cases reported by March 2023. The mpox virus has been most prevalent in the mid-Atlantic region of the country, especially in the New York City area. Although the case numbers are still far lower than those in 2022, the experts stressed that the recent uptick in cases—in addition to the expiration of the mpox public health emergency, a reduction of federal resources available to health officials, low rates of the two-dose JYNNEOS vaccine uptake, and the discovery of a new variant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that may be more transmissible and cause more severe disease—signifies that many at-risk individuals, including men who have sex with men and patients with HIV, may be susceptible to mpox infection. According to CDC data, less than 25% of the at-risk population has been vaccinated in most states. As a result, state health officials have issued awareness notices to encourage vaccination against mpox ahead of Pride month in June. The experts noted that unlike COVID-19 vaccines, current evidence suggests that mpox vaccines may not require regular booster shots and may effectively protect against more severe subtypes of the virus. “We felt like it was really important to get the word out that there is a continued risk from the virus. We’re hoping this might encourage [patients] to go ahead and get vaccinated so they can … enjoy their celebrations and not have to worry … about mpox,” concluded Brandy Darby, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, Director of the Division of Surveillance and Investigation in the Office of Epidemiology at the Virginia Department of Health.