Sacramento LGBT Community Center to host monkeypox vaccine clinic. You may be eligible

The Sacramento LGBT Community Center is partnering with Pucci’s Pharmacy for another monkeypox vaccination clinic as cases are over 100 in Sacramento County.

The county has a total of 110 monkeypox, also known as the MPX virus, cases, according to the latest update from Sacramento County Department of Health Services.

The Marsha P. Johnson Center will host its vaccination clinic at 75 Quinta Court Suite D from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 1. Residents are urged to make an appointment, but walk-ins will be seen while supplies last.

Do I qualify for the monkeypox vaccine?

You must be at least 18 and meet one or several of the following criteria to get the monkeypox vaccine at Sacramento LGBT Community Center’s monkeypox vaccine clinic, according to Pucci’s Pharmacy:

▪ Have tested positive for a sexually transmitted infection within the last two months

▪ Had two or more sexual partners in the last three weeks

▪ Attended or worked at a sex venue in the last three weeks

▪ Had anonymous sex in last three weeks

▪ Engaged in transaction sex in the last three weeks

Regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, those whose sexual partner(s) meet the criteria above are eligible for the vaccine, along with those who’ve engaged in transaction sex in the last three weeks, according to Pucci’s Pharmacy.

Those who’ve been identified by Sacramento County Public as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for monkeypox are also eligible for the vaccine.

The MPX virus is not a sexually transmitted infection. Monkeypox is generally spread from prolonged skin-to-skin contact, like hugging, sleeping in the same bed or sexual activity.

What should I expect at my appointment?

Arrive at the vaccine clinic at least 15 minutes before your appointment time. Residents are asked to remain six feet apart.

The monkeypox vaccine, once injected into the body, produces side effects similar to the flu shot or the COVID-19 vaccine. The monkeypox vaccine induces “minor reactions,” Sacramento County Public Health wrote on its website.

The symptoms include:

• Mild fever
• Tiredness
• Swollen glands
• Redness and itching where the vaccine was injected

What is monkeypox and how does it spread?

The MPX virus isn’t new.

The latest virus to push California into a state of emergency is an orthopox virus, related to smallpox.

The first human case of monkeypox was detected in 1970, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The first California monekypox case was discovered on May 24 in a resident who recently returned from international travel.

While some people are at higher risk of contracting the MPX virus, anyone can become infected. So it’s important to know the symptoms of the disease.

The virus spreads through contact with bodily fluids and respiratory droplets, according to Sacramento County Public Health. But it’s not easily spread, the county wrote, and droplets “do not travel more than a few feet.“

What are the latest MPX virus numbers?

More than 3,060 cases of the MPX virus have been confirmed in California, the second-highest count behind New York (3,038), according to the CDC’s U.S. cases map, last updated Wednesday.

In the U.S., more than 16,000 confirmed MPX virus cases have been recorded, according to the CDC. The least number of cases have been reported in Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and Vermont.

This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 1:07 PM.