Vaccination

Vaccination is currently recommended for people with known exposure to someone with mpox and people with certain risk factors who are more likely to be exposed to the mpox virus. The JYNNEOS vaccine is a 2-dose vaccination series. People need to get both doses of the vaccine for the best protection against mpox. The second dose should be given 4 weeks after the first dose.

Vaccine is open to individuals 18 years and older who live or work in Wisconsin and meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Known contacts who are identified by public health officials via case investigation, contact tracing, and risk exposure assessments.
• People with a known sexual partner in the past 14 days who was diagnosed with mpox.
• People who attended an event/venue where mpox exposure occurred or plan to attend an event/venue where mpox exposure is a risk.
• Any men who have sex with men, trans men and women, and gender non-conforming/non-binary individuals who have or expect to have multiple sexual partners.
• Healthcare personnel including clinical laboratory or research personnel who perform testing to diagnose or work directly with orthopoxviruses, and health care providers working in sexual health clinics or other specialty settings directly caring for patients with sexually transmitted infections.

More information on the JYNNEOS 2-dose vaccine

Mpox vaccines are available without an appointment:

Southside Health Center (1639 S. 23rd St.)

Mondays, 3 - 6 p.m.
Tuesdays, 1 - 4 p.m.

Northwest Health Center (7630 W. Mill Rd.)

Wednesdays, 3 - 6 p.m.
Fridays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Keenan Sexual Health Clinic (3200 N. 36th Street)

Mondays, 11 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Tuesdays - Fridays, 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Find more mpox vaccination sites in your area using the vaccine finder to the right.

What to Do If You Think You Were Exposed to Mpox

If you have symptoms or have been exposed to mpox, contact your healthcare provider as soon as possible to be tested. Healthcare providers can provide testing and care for people who are diagnosed with mpox. If you do not have a healthcare provider, contact your local health department for guidance.

Mpox testing in the Milwaukee area can be found at:

• Aurora Health Care Urgent Care
• BESTD Clinic
• Froedtert Urgent Care
• Holton Street Clinic
• Sixteenth Street Community Health Center
• 3rd Coast Clinic (Cudahy)
• Walker's Point Community Clinic

Monitor your health for 21 days, checking for signs and symptoms of mpox and taking your temperature regularly. If you experience symptoms, please isolate yourself from others.

More guidance on what to do if you are sick from the CDC

How Does Mpox Spread?

Mpox can spread to anyone through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact including:

• The most common way mpox is spread in the U.S. is by direct contact with the mpox rash, or bodily fluids from a person with mpox
• Touching objects, fabrics (clothing, bedding, or towels), and surfaces that have been used by someone with mpox.
• Contact with respiratory secretions.

This contact can happen during intimate contact including:

• Oral, anal, and vaginal sex or touching the genitals (penis, testicles, labia, and vagina) or anus (butthole) of a person with mpox.
• Hugging, massage, and kissing.
• Prolonged face-to-face contact.
• Touching fabrics and objects during sex that were used by a person with mpox and that have not been disinfected, such as bedding, towels, fetish gear, and sex toys.

What Are the Symptoms of Mpox?

Mpox symptoms usually start within 3 weeks of exposure to the virus. Mpox can be spread from the time symptoms start until the rash has healed, all scabs have fallen off, and a fresh layer of skin has formed. This can take several weeks. You may experience all or only a few of the symptoms of mpox:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches and backache
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Chills
• Exhaustion
• A rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus.

Most people with mpox recover in two to four weeks without needing treatment.

How to Prevent Mpox

Anyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, can get mpox through close, personal contact with someone who has symptoms of mpox. However, data suggests that the virus has primarily spread among social networks of gay, bisexual, and same gender-loving men through intimate contact. Risk is especially high for same-gender-loving men who have multiple or anonymous sexual partners.

Take the following steps to prevent getting mpox:

• Avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with the mpox rash.
• Do not touch the rash or scabs of person with mpox.
• Do not kiss, hug, cuddle, or have sex with someone with mpox.
• Do not share eating utensils or cups.
• Do not handle or touch the bedding, towels, or clothing of a sick person.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, especially after contact with sick people. 

A person who is sick with Mpox should isolate at home. If they have an active rash or other symptoms, they should be in a separate room or area from other family members and pets when possible. Additional isolation guidance from the CDC

• More information from the CDC on Safe Sex, Social Gatherings, and Mpox.