Vaccines are distributed in male health clinics and Vancouver baths due to the spread of monkeypox, as 21 cases are confirmed in British Columbia.
Hundreds of confirmed cases of smallpox have been reported in the country, mainly in Quebec and Ontario. However, a case confirmed south of Vancouver Island on Friday, the first confirmed case of monkeypox outside the Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) region.
The disease has not yet been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization, despite a large number of cases detected daily. Officials have said the current risk to the public is very low.
Canadian authorities, however, have said that most people who tested positive for the virus had sexual contact with other men. This led to the VCH vaccination campaign at men’s health clinics and restrooms this week, targeting those most at risk ahead of the Pride celebrations in late July.
Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, VCH’s deputy medical director of health, said the supply of vaccines is limited, but that there is currently high demand.
“Although we started vaccinating close contacts from cases and going to places where there had been exhibitions such as baths or cruise areas, we have now expanded the vaccination campaign to people at risk of monkeypox.” , he told CBC News.
Lysyshyn said the vaccines came from a national reserve managed by the federal government and demand far exceeded supply.
“We have big outbreaks in Toronto and Montreal, so they have requested large amounts of vaccines,” he said. “We have a smaller outbreak here, but we want to avoid getting into the situation they’re seeing there.”
Smallpox of the monkey can cause fever, aches and chills, as well as a rash or injuries characterized by the whole body.
Authorities have stressed that the infection can be spread to anyone who is exposed through close contact with an infected person or contaminated objects, and is not limited to men who have sex with other men.
VCH is currently focusing on HIV clinics and baths as part of the vaccine deployment and plans to establish a vaccination clinic in the West End, Vancouver’s historic center for the LGBTQ + community.
More than 100 vaccinated in one event
Tod Berezowski, general manager of Steamworks Bathhouse in Vancouver, said there was a big adoption when his establishment had a two-day vaccination clinic last weekend.
He says 104 people were vaccinated for two days and that he felt an obligation to his community to protect them from the virus.
“The way we have to look at this right now is preventative,” he said. “We’re going to get it out. People want it. Let’s put them there so we don’t have these cases.”
A negative-spot electron micrograph shows a particle of the mulberry-type monkeypox virus. The virus is not considered a threat to the general public at this time. (CDC)
Berezowski said it was especially important to do so for the city’s gay community ahead of the Vancouver Pride Parade, which officially begins on July 31, but will have several events the week before.
He says he was receiving calls for days after the vaccination clinic closed and hopes VCH will continue to expand vaccination efforts.
“I think if we had enough vaccines right now, people should be able to line up and go get it.”