Why Do Experts Push to Prioritize the Gay Community for Monkeypox Vaccine?

According to experts, the gay community should receive top priority when the monkeypox vaccine is distributed and administered.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monkeypox, a virus that was first transmitted to humans from animals, has over 15,000 confirmed cases across 71 countries in the world (CDC). Early cases have been connected to gay and bisexual men, with many cases in the United States being connected to a single incident.

(Photo : Photo: CDC / Unsplash)

Since the virus is spread through skin-to-clothing or skin-to-skin contact, anyone of any sexual orientation can get the illness. However, because of the initial uptick in cases in the LGBTQ+ community, men who have sex with other men are reportedly most at risk of getting the virus.

Monkeypox vaccines have recently become available in the United States. According to the U.S., more than 190,000 doses of the JYNNEOS monkeypox and smallpox vaccine had been dispersed from the Strategic National Stockpile as of July 19 to support regional vaccination campaigns nationwide. Health and Human Services Department.

Not Enough Vaccines

There are not enough vaccine doses to inoculate everyone, so the most vulnerable individuals must be given priority. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said that the vaccine will be made available to the gay community, including gay men, men having sex with men, bisexual men, and transgender people who have been diagnosed with early syphilis or gonorrhea within the past 12 months.

Those who are on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), or worked or attended at a commercial sex venue or another venue where they had anonymous sex or sex with multiple partners within the past 21 days are also included. The said vaccinations will happen in Los Angeles starting on July 20.

Read also: Monkeypox Infection Grows to 14,000 Cases and Kills Five People: WHO 

Weighing Priorities and Outcomes

Paul Hunter is a professor of health protection at the University of East Anglia's Norwich School of Medicine in the United Kingdom. said that the vaccine should be administered to those who are most at risk in any epidemic that the authorities are attempting to control.

According to him, men who engage in active sexual networks and have sex with other men frequently and in close proximity to a variety of other men are the ones who have monkeypox. It is this group that the epidemic is primarily affecting, so it is this group that the vaccine should be administered first. He also said that nothing will be accomplished by administering vaccines to those who are not actually at risk, Newsweek reports.

Hunter contends that at this time, access to vaccines should not be prioritized for men who have sex with other men but are in an exclusive relationship because they are not at high risk.

Vaccine Information

The following people with known contacts who are discovered by public health through contact tracing, case investigations, and risk exposure assessments are receiving JYNNEOS vaccine allocations to use for their protection.

The CDC also recommends the vaccine for people who have alleged contacts who may fit the following criteria: knew that a sexual partner had been diagnosed with monkeypox within the previous 14 days, and had multiple sexual partners within the previous 14 days in a region where monkeypox was known to exist.

Related article: US Gets 500,000 Monkeypox Vaccine Doses to Combat Ongoing Outbreak