AUSTIN, Texas — On Thursday night, Austin ISD leaders received an update on monkeypox from the Austin-Travis County health authority.
While there aren't any cases among Austin children now, Dr. Desmar Walkes with Austin Public Health said the illness can be spread by any sort of close contact. She also explained that many of the mitigation strategies for monkeypox are the same ones schools have already used to combat COVID-19.
"Hand-washing, staying home when you're sick, washing surfaces and are things that we've been doing for COVID and anticipate that it's part of the normal practice of getting through the day in our school system now," Walkes said.
Walkes said the update for the school district was a "situational awareness briefing" to share information about monkeypox in the area, how it can spread and taking precautions to avoid contracting and spreading the virus.
Although there are no pediatric cases of monkeypox in Austin-Travis County, APH said there were 93 confirmed cases as of Wednesday.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said Thursday that the state is set to receive more monkeypox vaccines as early as Friday and into next week. An estimated 12,550 doses are being allocated to Texas with an additional 5,050 for the City of Houston alone.
For more information on vaccine eligibility in the Austin area, click here.
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