Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The number of new COVID-19 positive cases continues to decline and remains at double digits, and the Health Department has received its first shipment of the monkeypox vaccine for American Samoa, according to the latest DoH Situational Report presented at Tuesday afternoon’s COVI-19 Task Force briefing.

On Tuesday’s task force briefing, DoH presented an update on the monkeypox virus, which includes, American Samoa’s Medical Response Plan; training of doctors and nurses; and that the DoH laboratory is designated the primary testing lab for this new virus.

DoH further announced that it received 20 vials of the monkeypox vaccine — JYNNEOS - on Aug. 13.

According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the preferred vaccine to protect against monkeypox is JYNNEOS, which is a two-dose vaccine. It takes 14 days after getting the second dose of JYNNEOS for its immune protection to reach its maximum.

The second vaccine is ACAM2000, and CDC said it may be an alternative to JYNNEOS. ACAM2000 is a single-dose vaccine, and it takes four weeks after vaccination for its immune protection to reach its maximum.

“However, it has the potential for more side effects and adverse events than JYNNEOS. It is not recommended for people with severely weakened immune systems and several other conditions,” said CDC’s public health information data.

As of Aug. 23, CDC data shows 15,909 confirmed cases in the U.S, and every state now reports one or more cases of this new virus — including Hawaii with 15 cases.

Puerto Rico is the only U.S territory with reported cases — at 77, according to CDC data, with the latest update online (at www.cdc.gov).

COVID-19

DoH reports 54 new COVID positives from the 3,716 individuals tested at DoH clinics and LBJ Medical Center for the week of Aug. 15 to Aug. 21, compared to the previous week of Aug. 08 to Aug. 14 - in which 4,689 were tested and a total of 70 tested positive of COVID-19.

While the number of positive cases continues to decline and remain at double digits, health authorities continue to remind the public that the coronavirus is still present in the territory. DoH data shows 85.4% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated while 1.7% have yet to receive either the first or second shot of the COVID vaccine.

With the new positives, total cumulative COVID-19 count stands at 8,157 since the first community case was recorded on Feb. 28, while there are 84 active cases. None of the active cases are reported from the Manu’a island group, and the DoH report provides no breakdown for Manu’a.

The DoH report does show that COVID-19 related deaths remain at 34, with three new hospitalizations for the reporting period.