Press play to listen to this article
In Europe there are cases of collective public health amnesia.
The COVID-19 pandemic has witnessed vaccine nationalism, conflicting official guidance, and marginalized groups forced to defend themselves. The early days of the HIV crisis were marred by rampant homophobia, stigma and unequal access to treatment.
With 16,500 cases of monkeypox currently reported in Europe, history is repeating itself, mostly among men who have sex with men. Some communities are taking matters into their own hands, such as creating their own health information campaigns and traveling across borders in search of vaccines.
POLITICO spoke to people desperate to protect themselves from the virus. Although the virus has been described as “mild,” it can cause weeks of debilitating pain and lifelong scarring.
“As a single gay man, I have spent my life worrying about contracting STDs and HIV, but for the past two years I have also been worried about COVID,” said the 34-year-old Portuguese man. Theater Director, Paulo said. “I can’t believe I have to worry about another infection.”
Paulo, who cannot be vaccinated in Portugal, plans to go to Lille in northern France. The city’s proximity to the Belgian border has made it an unlikely pilgrimage destination for people from neighboring countries, thanks to its willingness to photograph foreign tourists. That is despite the fact that the government has officially reserved the monkeypox vaccine for French residents.
“I’m really worried about monkeypox… I don’t want to have something that leaves a permanent scar, causes a lot of physical pain, and puts me in quarantine for weeks during a short vacation. I have this summer.” he said. “Only more privileged people can travel for this particular reason, and it doesn’t feel fair.”
Paul may get the vaccine, but the fact that many others at risk cannot get it soon, combined with an unclear public health message, has left people with “anger and real anxiety.” said Robbie Lawlor, co-founder of Access to Medicines Ireland, who left the campaign group.
Infection can be spread through close contact such as during sex, crowded parties, and kissing on dates. The outbreak has led to disagreements over how to deliver an accurate yet unbiased message, but vaccine supplies are limited and strict eligibility criteria prevent many from accessing vaccines. I am desperate to get it.
Sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates are already on the rise across the board, and sexual health clinics and community health groups are struggling to keep up with demand for services. “Now let’s put in something like monkeypox, which is very scary for so many people,” Lawler said. increase.”
déjà vu again
A trip to Lille, just an hour’s train ride from Brussels, isn’t just for men worried about the health effects of monkeypox. Wouter, his 28-year-old architect based in the Belgian capital, said he traveled to the French city over the weekend to get a jab to ease his fears over a “month-long quarantine period and social stigma.” Told. .
“I’m not worried about death, but I’m certainly worried about the scarring. Finding it and telling people I work with what society sees as a ‘sexually gay disease’ You must tell someone you are infected with. “He said. “Politicians and the mainstream media don’t seem to care as long as you stay in the gay community.”
Veteran activists sense the strong stigma surrounding HIV when it first spread among gay people 40 years ago.
Susan Cole, Community Engagement and Marketing Manager at UK charity NAM aidsmap, said: “It’s reminiscent of the 80’s.”
But opinions are divided on how to address the risk of stigmatization.
Alex Sparrowhawk, Partnership Coordinator, Terrence Higgins Trust, said: While those who lived through the worst of the HIV epidemic may be wary of explicitly pointing out groups most at risk, others believe that men who have sex with men predominate. I argue that the fact that we are influenced by should be front and center in our message. .
Peter Piot, former head of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and independent adviser to the European Commission, said the difficulty was “a fine line”.
“The reality is that the overwhelming majority of those affected are men who have sex with men, but it’s part of the community,” Piot told POLITICO.
Then there’s the debate about whether large gatherings, whether it’s a summer music festival or a pride event, where sex or close contact may occur should be canceled altogether.
Many activists say this approach won’t work.
Apostolos Karogianis, Communications Coordinator for the European AIDS Treatment Group, said: “Behavior change didn’t work for HIV and it doesn’t work for this either.
“The community was really straightforward,” says Kalogiannis.Canceling an event is the worst decision [with] Prevention and health promotion [messaging] About monkeypox
competition for dosage
Complicating the debate over risk communication is the fact that there are not enough vaccines to protect those who want them.
Across Europe, vaccine eligibility policies vary. For example, France stockpiled a vaccine manufactured by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic to prevent smallpox outbreaks. With that vaccine approved against monkeypox, the government released her 42,000 doses. For gay men, transgender people with multiple partners, and sex workers.
This is in contrast to other countries where doses are scarce and access to subgroups of these aggregates has to be restricted. For example, the Netherlands has so far only offered vaccinations to those receiving her PrEP, a preventive treatment against HIV. In Belgium, a man who has sex with a man is only eligible if he has had at least two STDs in the past year and can provide documentation.
The availability of the Bavarian Nordic vaccine varies widely between and within countries. It is also difficult to determine the size of existing stockpiles, as many governments keep this information secret for national security reasons. We ordered the quantity, which pales in comparison to the 250,000 shots purchased directly by France and 130,000 by the UK.
In the United States, by contrast, the Biden administration released more than one million doses of the Bavarian Nordic vaccine it had already stockpiled and declared monkeypox a national health emergency.
According to the French Ministry of Health, immunization centers set up by local health authorities must provide jabs “free of charge to vaccinated persons residing in their territory”. But Karima Choir, head of the public health center in Lille, which distributes the vaccine, doesn’t say it’s restricting doses only to residents of France.
“We are doing vaccinations, so it is open to everyone. Yes, we also see some Belgians asking us to be vaccinated,” said Chouia of POLITICO. told to The goal is to make this vaccination widely available. “
Lille is not the only French city grappling with the challenge of getting everyone who wants it vaccinated. Clinics in Paris and several cities on the borders of France and Italy are following similar protocols.
‘can’t believe it’
In Milan, city councilor Michele Albiani cited the response of the French government to pressure his government to deal with the crisis.
“I can’t believe that I, in Milan, can book an appointment to be vaccinated in France, but I can’t do the same in my own country,” he told his followers on social media. is.”
A few days later, the Italian government announced it would begin administering a limited supply of 4,200 doses to healthcare workers and members of the LGBTQ community considered particularly at risk. An additional 16,000 vaccines are expected to be available by the end of the month.
Community groups are tasked with providing information to those most at risk of monkeypox, but sexual health clinics with limited resources, such as the one in Lille run by Shuir, are at a standstill in immunization efforts. Standing at the forefront.
Much public health work “falls on the shoulders of organizations that are event organizers or advocacy groups” that don’t have the infrastructure and funding to do this work, said Cianán Russell. International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA-Europe).
Activists agree that sexual health clinics and community organizations are best placed to work with people at highest risk of monkeypox, but they need sustained support to do so.
Ann Isabelle von Lingen, who also works with the European AIDS Treatment Group, said there was “no long-term investment in the community” and the organization is ready to advise and provide support when the crisis strikes. and is expected, but often the funds they need. “The European Commission and local authorities need to invest in community emergency response,” von Lingen said.
With a report from Helen Collis.
This article is Politico Pro
POLITICO A one-stop-shop solution for policy makers that combines the depth of journalism with the power of technology
Exclusive breaking scoops and insights
Customized Policy Intelligence Platform
high-level public relations network
.
