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“There is light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to monkeypox in DC,” Mangala said. But officials say they are “erring on the side of caution” with a massive vaccination effort and close monitoring of universities, which could pose a major problem when students return to campus.
In the district, the demand for the vaccine is decreasing, the authorities last month Expanded eligibility It has improved practices in an effort to reduce the stigma associated with a virus that affects men who have sex with men the most but can infect anyone. Virginia expanded eligibility guidelines shortly after D.C., despite a national vaccine shortage and the federally approved intravenous injection method. Elastic sizes.
Several months into it About 20,000 people have tested positive for monkeypox worldwide, according to federal data. In America From Thursday. There were 436 cases District from Thursday and 534 inches Maryland and 353 inches Virginia From Friday, data shows.
The district, which has received more vaccinations than its neighbors, has administered nearly 24,000 doses of Genios, the only vaccine approved to treat rabies.
At one of three walk-up clinics held every Friday, the lunchtime crowd was thin. Within an hour, two people – both spoke to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity To protect privacy – received the first dose of a two-dose regimen.
“I’m a little sad I don’t see many people here,” said one. He was invited to make an appointment after pre-registering online, but said it was easier to go to the walk-in clinic on his own schedule.
He praised the approach, but thought demand had waned because people didn’t know where to vaccinate or couldn’t find the sites.
DC The public health intervention removed questions from the registration process and made the vaccine available to all people of any sexual orientation or gender in the past two weeks, according to CDC guidelines.
In their efforts to learn from the experience of deploying the corona virus vaccine, they are also fast The medical facility has enlisted community partners to host clinics for the underserved. Black people have a big place too. Proportion of people infected with monkeypox in the region.
In the district, whites account for 37 percent of cases and blacks account for 36 percent. City data shows that 55 percent of those receiving the vaccine are white and 20 percent are black. Maryland case data show that 58 percent of blacks and 16 percent of whites did not report, with 20 percent not reporting. In Virginia, 39 percent are among blacks and 26 percent among whites, but whites are more likely to be vaccinated.
The Biden administration on friday He asked Congress for more than $4.5 billion in emergency funding to respond to the monkey disease as part of a broader $47 billion request.
The National Black Gay Men’s Advocacy Coalition, including Helping Us, a D.C.-based organization that provides medical, behavioral health and social services to Black gay men and Black transgender women, praised federal efforts to boost public health response.
“The US public health response has been slow to recognize the impact of MPV among black gay and bisexual men. Our community is paying the price for that inaction,” NBGMAC said in a statement this week. And he admires and respects the resilience of black gay and bisexual men who actively seek treatment.”
Maryland public health officials this week Pre-registration system Vaccine for monkey disease. The state received 14,539 vaccinations and administered 3,470 doses, leaving over 11,000 doses unaccounted for.
Although infection rates are declining in some states with large outbreaks and DC, the CDC reported this week that some states, including Virginia, are “accelerating growth.”
Virginia has administered 7,741 doses, with northern Virginia the most populous and the highest case rate, state data show.
Stuart Ray, a professor of medicine in the Johns Hopkins Division of Infectious Diseases, said more vaccinations are needed across the country and that not enough testing is being done to catch all cases.
“When people are worried about getting monkeypox at the grocery store, I say if they haven’t hugged or kissed six shoppers, they’re probably fine,” he said. “This is not a highly contagious virus, but there are ways to control the risk.”
Monkey disease is mainly spread by skin-to-skin contact.
Even though places like D.C. are reporting a decline in cases and the need for vaccinations, the virus, like the coronavirus, can spread to unprepared communities, he said.
“That’s one of the reasons I don’t want to be CDC director,” Ray said. “A great event makes it seem like nothing. The challenge here is that it can be smoked, but it can go into next year and we don’t know which way this virus will go.
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