The Biden administration will distribute monkeypox vaccine to jurisdictions that adopt a new protocol using one-fifth the regular dose. Critics called the plan “unscientific.”WASHINGTON — The White House, under pressure to contain a growing monkeypox outbreak, announced on Thursday that it was sending 1.8 million vaccine doses to jurisdictions that agree to use a new vaccination protocol, as public health officials prepare for Gay Pride events and the return to college campuses, which they fear could hasten spread of the virus.The Biden administration has not acquired additional doses of the monkeypox vaccine. Instead, it is trying to stretch the existing stockpile by promoting a different method of administration that uses one-fifth as much per shot. Federal health officials say that is just as effective when injected into the skin instead of a full dose into underlying fat.The White House plan is an effort to encourage cities and states to switch to the so-called intradermal method. Those that have done so, and used 90 percent of their current supplies of vaccine, will be able to order additional doses beginning on Monday, officials said.“More shots in arms is how we get the outbreak under control,” Robert J. Fenton Jr., the White House monkeypox response coordinator, told reporters on Thursday.But not all jurisdictions have switched to intradermal dosing — New York City, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, has yet to begin such a change. And the protocol has raised concerns from some scientists, activists and the vaccine’s manufacturer, Bavarian Nordic.In a letter last week to President Biden’s health secretary, Xavier Becerra, the company expressed “some reservations” about the system, citing “very limited safety data” and concerns that patients might not receive a required second dose. On Thursday, the company said it had reached an agreement with a U.S.-based contract manufacturer to bottle doses of the vaccine, known as Jynneos, which will ease the current shortage.The administration’s vaccine distribution plan drew criticism from activists, who said that the better response would be to work with cities and states on a more flexible plan for mixed dosing. In that proposed regimen, some shots would be given into the skin — most likely by major health centers that were equipped to do so — and some would be given in the more traditional way, by providers who were not trained or equipped to switch.“What they are doing now, first and foremost, is unscientific,” said Joseph Osmundson, a virologist at New York University. “To pretend that 100 percent of doses will be given intradermally is incorrect.”James Krellenstein, a founder of PrEP4All, an advocacy group for H.I.V. patient care, called Thursday’s announcement about the distribution of vaccine doses “a complete accounting trick.” Activists also say the new protocol could exacerbate existing racial disparities and signal to people of color that they might be getting a lesser dose, despite health officials’ approval.“Once it starts becoming equitable, now it’s not, ‘We’ll give you the dosage that everyone was getting prior,’ it’s, ‘We’ll give you the shorter doses,’” said Jennifer Barnes-Balenciaga, a Black transgender woman who is helping to lead RESPND-MI, an epidemiological study on monkeypox.What to Know About the Monkeypox VirusCard 1 of 7What to Know About the Monkeypox VirusWhat is monkeypox?