On June 23, people lined up outside the Health and Mental Health Clinic in New York City.
Photo: Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Feeling like hundreds of men lined up to get a monkeypox vaccination outside Chelsea’s Sexual Health Clinic on Thursday as the city’s LGBTQ + community prepares to enjoy a pride festival this weekend Was clearly not a festival.
“The city and the federal government haven’t done a great job of protecting the gay community during this outbreak,” said activist James Clerenstein, who received his first shot on Thursday with a promise. Said. “This is a recipe for a disaster that leads to a mass transmission event.”
On the eve of the first pride parade with a full slate of programming since the beginning of the pandemic, much of the gay community is worried about monkeypox, a smallpox-like disease found in 3,500 people worldwide. I feel it. The number of cases confirmed in New York remains low, with 30 New Yorkers tested positive since the outbreak began, but more than half of these cases occurred last week and almost all were male. He was a man who had sex. , According to the Department of Health and Mental Health. Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease, but it spreads between the skin and makes long-term contact with the respiratory tract during sexual intercourse. The incident in Germany was related to a “sexually active” political party, and Spain followed the outbreak of a sauna in Madrid and a pride event in the Canary Islands.
“This is all thanks to pride,” Evan Ipok gestured to people like him who were in line for hours waiting to take the walk-in promise. “People want to be able to enjoy themselves with peace of mind this weekend.”
However, according to the Ministry of Health, only 275 shots were given on Thursday, and the federal government has launched the Jynneos vaccine, a smallpox vaccine that has proven to be 85% effective against monkeypox. Was assigned only 1,000 times. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two doses need to be extended at 4-week intervals for the vaccine to be fully effective, but one dose has been shown to stimulate a strong antibody response in clinical trials. I am. Even if the city runs out of all quotas before the weekend, it won’t even cover the 5,000 people expected to attend one pride party in Brooklyn on Sunday.
“There are definitely people who are limiting their behavior by thinking twice about going to more sex-based parties. There is a lot of anxiety in the community,” said a Brooklyn neurologist waiting for a shot. Said Aaron Road. The Lord said he had friends and family who traveled to Canada, where he started vaccination a few weeks ago.
Some of that anxiety comes from a lack of information about the disease, the symptoms, how it spreads, and who is at risk.
“I booked immediately when I heard that I had the vaccine,” said Roy Gabrielov, who fired three hours later. “That said, I didn’t know that there were two versions of the vaccine, and that the older version had a significant risk. I didn’t know that it was two doses. Exactly when it would be transmitted. What do you want to know? What do you expect when you feel the symptoms of your illness and before the actual appearance of smallpox? If you have acne breakouts, how do you know that it is acne instead of acne? Can you? We would like to make it more available to those of us who are looking for that information. “
According to the CDC, the symptoms of monkeypox usually begin within 2 weeks of exposure. Symptoms range from fatigue to fever, headache, and muscle aches. One to three days after the onset of symptoms, most people develop a rash or sore around the genitals, anus, hands, feet, chest, or face. The disease is transmitted from the early onset of symptoms until the pain and scabs are completely healed. This can take several weeks.
The CDC recalled the early days of COVID and issued guidance to reduce risk at parties, rave and sex clubs. The guidelines recommend that people with symptoms have virtual sex or mutual masturbation at a distance of at least 6 feet. Read the bullet point that says, “Consider having sex while wearing clothes.”
One of the reasons Chris Adams, a nurse in Stamford, Connecticut, went to Chelsea after hearing from a colleague that a vaccine was available was pride. Still wearing a work scrub, Adams joined behind the line towards the end of the day. He didn’t know if he would come forward before he ran out of supplies. “It’s a shame they took a very long time to start vaccination,” Adams said.
