BOSTON — Boston Public Health Commission is urging residents to get vaccinated against monkeypox as the city tracks an uptick in cases, with the agency specifically directing gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men to be first in line for the shot.

The agency is straightforward about which population it is targeting. The press release identifies gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men as the group most at risk. That tracks with CDC data on the 2022 outbreak, when the same population accounted for the overwhelming majority of cases in the United States.

Monkeypox spreads primarily through close, direct skin-to-skin contact with infected lesions, scabs, or bodily fluids. Extended contact with contaminated bedding, towels, or clothing can also transmit the virus, BPHC said.

“We want to make sure people who are at higher risk have easy access to the vaccine and the information they need to protect themselves and their partners,” said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, BPHC’s commissioner, in the announcement.

Jullieanne Lee, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA2S+ Advancement, pitched the city’s response as a community-care initiative. Dr. Will Giordano-Perez, chief medical officer at Fenway Health, was also quoted endorsing the push.

The shot in question is JYNNEOS, a two-dose vaccine administered 28 days apart. The agency says it is roughly 80% effective at preventing illness once both doses are on board, with peak protection two weeks after the second dose.

It is currently available across Boston at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Medical Center, Fenway Health, and a network of area pharmacies. The full list is at mass.gov.

BPHC is also opening pop-up vaccine clinics through the summer with city partners. The first runs Monday, June 1, from 1 to 4 p.m. at City Hall, alongside the annual Pride flag raising.

Additional clinic dates and locations will be posted at boston.gov/vaccine as they are scheduled.

The city is not, at this writing, providing specific case counts for Boston. The agency’s framing is that the case rate is rising enough to act, but not high enough to declare an emergency. The vaccine, in BPHC’s view, is the answer before the case rate gets there.