Monkeypox Vaccination in the Republic of Korea: Identifying the High-Risk Target Group

Abstract

In June 2022, the first monkeypox case was reported as imported into Korea. The general public asked whether they should get vaccinated against monkeypox because of the recent COVID-19 vaccination experience. As of the current monkeypox outbreak situation, a ring vaccination strategy for the high-risk group is more appropriate than the mass population vaccination with smallpox vaccines. Therefore, identifying the proper target group by available vaccines based on the risk and benefit analysis is a key issue of the vaccination program. In addition, the target group should be reviewed by the epidemiological situation of the jurisdiction along with the updated evidence of the monkeypox virus on transmission dynamics, severity, and fatality.