[ad_1]
noA 29-year-old gay man in New York City lived through America’s first major wave of monkeypox. As the CEO and co-founder of a healthcare startup, I am deeply involved in the world of public health—particularly public health affecting LGBTQ+ people.
So I figured I could easily inoculate against monkeypox. But it took me weeks to do it. It’s even harder for people in my community who have less time and less resources. What can be done to fix this?
no He got off the 4 train and walked into masked crowds at the Bedford Park Boulevard subway station in the Bronx. The elderly, the young, the trans people, the disabled and the disabled: we were all going to get vaccinated at the Bronx High School of Science.
advertisement
To get to that point I had to identify my own health concerns. Some of the questions – Have I had enough promiscuous sex to qualify for the vaccine? Have I had anonymous sex? Was it unprotected? With multiple partners? Where did you meet? In the last two weeks? – I didn’t want to answer in front of my close friends. Not to mention, who gets to decide what constitutes “promiscuous sex”?! The term is not based on facts but full of judgment.
Next, I had to search for appointments online and get them before the one-time job was over.
advertisement
The crowd headed to the Bronx High School of Science felt really good to see AIDS survivors in the 1980s next to my LGBTQ+ folks. Although HIV is not a death sentence for access to proper preventive measures (PrEP) and treatment (antiviral therapy), the emotional trauma of society is still there. We were coming from all over New York City to protect ourselves, our community, and the public at large.
When I opened my Grindr app (a location-based social networking and online dating app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people), I was shocked to see hundreds of people online nearby. The Bronx High School of Science is not a typical stop for the LGBTQ+ community on Sunday — not a smattering of Manhattan’s West Village — but we were inspired to travel outside of our neighborhood and district for a common cause. My friends and I have noticed that people using Grindr are starting to show not only their covid vaccination status, but also their monkeypox immunity levels. Grindr is the same Encouraging users to get vaccinated. (You know public health dropped the ball when a gay hookup app promoted the vaccine before local or national public health agencies.)
It is clear to me – and it should be clear to anyone – that the LGBTQ+ community wants to do its part to stop the spread of monkeypox. But just as PrEP is an important tool to limit the spread of HIV, other public health tools are also needed to prevent monkeypox.
One of the older men in line, probably from the mid-60s, was wearing a shirt with the ACT UP slogan, “SILENCE = DEATH,” emphasizing the connection between the AIDS epidemic and this monkey disease epidemic. While self-identification disproportionately pressures LGBTQ+ people to access health care services, what other groups boast this level of health awareness? With Covid-19, individuals were expected to protect themselves, but there was great hope from public health to provide additional tools such as remote diagnostic testing, concrete protocols and guidelines, and eventually readily available vaccines. For gonorrhea, both the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urge men who have sex with men to reduce or stop having sex with new partners and to get vaccinated, though they don’t provide information on how to do either.
There are limits to what the LGBTQ+ community can accomplish without more institutional support. (Hello, federal government! What are you doing? Robert Fenton has been appointed White House epidemic coordinator, but only until three states declare a state of emergency.)
New York City’s first clinic in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood had to shut down the line after 90 minutes to administer 1,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine. San Francisco’s health department confirmed that city clinics ran out of rabies vaccines in less than a day in early August. Georgia as a Monkey disease pointBut the Department of Health’s websites regularly fail to schedule vaccination appointments due to overwhelming demand, which means more citizens are no closer to vaccination than before.
When I went in to see the nurse at Bronx High School of Science, there was some confusion about whether or not I could get a second dose of the vaccine. At the time, public health officials were trying to decide whether or not they should. Extend the supply of the vaccine By vaccinating more people with one dose instead of vaccinating a few people with two doses, this will provide protection in the future Less long-term sustainability.
After my first vaccination, the Biden administration approved the use of these One fifth of the amount Jynneos monkeypox vaccine. While this sounds like a good idea, health care workers have difficulty learning how to administer the vaccine intradermally as needed, which routinely results in wasted doses. Why was this plan approved before health departments could effectively implement the fractional dosing plan?
Lack of vaccination is not the only problem. Monkey disease testing is limited and the World Health Organization And the CDC is encouraging people to limit sexual partners, which is not an effective long-term solution. Notice the spike in sexually transmitted infections during Covid-19, a It showed a 24 percent increase. Rates of primary and secondary syphilis among women of childbearing age when people practice social distancing. (Also, straight people are being singled out for ceasing sex as a public health measure!)
Testing should also be more accessible. Health departments across the country should enable at-home testing for leprosy to help the LGBTQ+ community fight its spread. This allows at-risk members of this community to access care without public ID, as well as parents, shift workers, individuals with disabilities, and others who lack the resources to seek care outside the home. The Center for American Progress reported 31% LGBTQ+ people Living outside metropolitan areas, access to more than one community health center or clinic was found to be very difficult or impossible.
Some hospitals, clinics, and public health initiatives have built on the popularity of telehealth, and its use has increased even further. 150% During the Covid-19 pandemic, telemedicine options and home diagnostic testing to improve access to healthcare. Home tests are currently used in STI testing, prenatal testing, primary care, medication administration, chronic care, and more. Why use this option to increase access to monkey disease diagnosis and remote care, especially when so many studies have been done (Kaiser Family Foundation, Rutgers UniversityAnd others) Is telehealth an effective way to reach the LGBTQ+ community? An FDA approved monkey disease test It can detect herpes from a sample of the wound, which is not the same as the herpes test.
The larger public health community needs to take action to stop monkeypox, as it did with Covid-19 – free vaccinations for all, improving telehealth services, enabling Operation Warp Speed ​​to accelerate monkeypox vaccines and treatments, and major information campaigns to spread awareness about the disease. The LGBTQ+ community has had to advocate for itself as it continues to work with the AIDS epidemic. It is time to provide more institutional support to contain the virus.
David Stein is the CEO and co-founder of Ash Wellness, a New York City-based company that works with partners to enable pilot programs at home.
[ad_2]
Source link
