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'We're on our own.' Urgent pleas for monkeypox vaccines from gay men feeling neglected by the government - CNN
Aug 05, 2022 2 mins, 39 secs

"I was in New York for the past month for work, and I tried with their online portal system and was unsuccessful in getting a vaccine," said the health care worker who thought he might have a better chance in San Francisco.

"However, we will try to find you more shots."

Although with no guarantee of getting the monkeypox vaccine that day, Aarons -- and just about everyone in line -- stayed put.

"People want their vaccine," said Rafael Mandelman, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

there are parallels between that moment and this one," according to TerMeer.

"President Biden has called on us to explore every option on the table to combat the monkeypox outbreak and protect communities at risk," said White House National Monkeypox Response Coordinator Robert Fenton.

There were points where I couldn't walk, couldn't touch things," said Kevin Kwong, who recently recovered from monkeypox after being diagnosed in early July.

He chronicled his ordeal on social media to bring awareness to the outbreak and now wants to "focus on destigmatizing the gay community."

The first case of monkeypox in the US was announced on May 18 in a patient hospitalized in Massachusetts who had traveled to Canada in private transportation.

Less than three months later there are more than 7,000 confirmed cases of the outbreak across the country, identified in all but two states -- Montana and Wyoming, according to the CDC.

Since the start of June, the CDC says it has been doing extensive education and outreach to the LGBTQ community, including working with local Pride organizations, releasing educational videos and creating campaigns on social media sites and dating apps popular in the gay community.

According to the World Health Organization, there have been 25,054 cases confirmed by a laboratory as of August 3, and 122 probable cases.

"For the moment this is an outbreak that's concentrated among men who have sex with men, especially those who have multiple partners," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in late July when WHO declared monkeypox a public health emergency of international concern.

But while the outbreak has disproportionately impacted some gay communities, there is growing concern over the spread of infection.

Two other pediatric cases have been confirmed in Indiana, and another in Long Beach, California, earlier this week.

"This is a reminder that everyone, regardless of age or sexual orientation, can get monkeypox if they come into contact with the virus," the City of Long Beach cautioned, echoing CDC guidance that while the risk of infection in children is low, they are "more likely to be exposed to monkeypox if they live in or have recently traveled to a community with higher rates of infection."

There are over 500 cases of the outbreak identified across California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York and Texas, the latest CDC figures show.

New York has the distinction of having the most cases -- 1,748 -- followed by California with 826 confirmed cases.

"We need everyone to be rallying behind this issue and quickly," TerMeer said "There is an imminent window of time by which we can get ahead of the fast spread of monkeypox across our country and that window continues to close."

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