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The province has so far vaccinated more than 20,000 people against monkey pox
Author of the article:
Canadian press
Tyler Griffin
Publication date:
August 9, 2022 • 46 minutes ago • Read 4 minutes • Join the conversation Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, speaks at a news conference at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Monday, April 11, 2022. Photo by Nathan Denette/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Content of the article
Ontario’s top doctor says the province’s current monkeypox vaccination strategy is working and cases of the virus appear to be stabilizing, but some who work with people in shelters say the program d ‘immunization should be expanded to better serve these communities.
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Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore said the province has so far vaccinated more than 20,000 people against monkeypox, with the priority group being gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men who meet certain criteria. .
“We have been able to obtain the vaccines we need from our federal partners, we have been able to staff our immunization clinics to meet the needs of our population, we have the necessary funding and partnerships to ensure that our system of health protect those at risk from this virus,” Moore said in a recent interview.
“Our response in Ontario has been pretty robust. We still have a long way to go, but it looks like our total number of (smallpox) cases is leveling off.”
But for some, the province’s vaccination strategy isn’t doing enough to protect those living in high-risk environments like homeless shelters, with a recent case of smallpox confirmed in one person who attended a Toronto shelter.
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Diana Chan McNally, a community worker at a Toronto center for people in need, said she believes monkeypox vaccines should be widely available to those living in shelters given the congregated nature of the settings and the fact that those who live there can share belongings.
“This sort of laissez-faire attitude toward the vaccine is part of the fact that we don’t seem to prioritize creating special protocols or really consider the unique conditions that can lead to monkeypox infection in the shelter system. “, he said. Chan McNally.
He also said the current monkeypox vaccine strategy does not take into account the intersections between people living in shelters and those who might be eligible for vaccination, such as sex workers and people in the community LGBTQ experiencing homelessness, who may not have access to the city. -Direction of immunization clinics.
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“Why we can’t bring, even in small amounts, dedicated amounts of the vaccine to the priority groups in the shelter system, I don’t know,” he said. “I think that’s something that could help mitigate any potential for spread.”
Chan McNally also said he wants to see the shot offered to shelter workers. “If we protect their health, we can protect other people in the shelter system,” he said.
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Toronto Public Health held pop-up monkeypox vaccine clinics at the refuge where a case was recently reported, which Moore says is part of Ontario’s “ring immunization” strategy targeting those who they could have been exposed to a known case.
Patricia Mueller, CEO of Homes First, the company that oversees the shelter where the case was confirmed, said there have been no further cases of smallpox linked to it. He said his staff, the city and Toronto Public Health acted quickly to move the infected person to an isolation and recovery site and set up a vaccination clinic.
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Mueller added that shelter workers are considered to be at low risk of monkeypox infection.
Rita Shahin, associate physician of health at Toronto Public Health, said the city is not currently planning a larger smallpox vaccine program for all shelter residents, although those who meet the criteria are eligible for the vaccination
“We have to watch where the disease is, who is most at risk, and if we see additional cases or they spread into the host system, that’s certainly something we would look at,” Shahin said.
Shahin also said the city’s supply of monkeypox vaccine is “quite limited,” although Moore said the province has a “significant reserve” of doses ready for emergency situations.
Thomas Tenkate, a professor at Metropolitan University of Toronto’s School of Public and Occupational Health, said he agrees that men who have sex with men should remain the primary target group for smallpox vaccination in the monkey based on transmission trends, but added that pop-up clinics in shelters could be a proactive way to slow the spread of the virus.
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“If you’re going to vaccinate people who are in shelters, the strategies have to be different than the general community,” Tenkate said. “People who use shelters or are homeless, you really have to go there.”
He said another challenge in vaccinating those in shelters is understanding their health history to flag potential complications of receiving the vaccine. “That could also be a limiting factor in implementing it,” he said.
Public Health Ontario reported a total of 449 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the province on Thursday, up from 423 on Tuesday. The agency’s latest report said the majority of cases, more than 77 percent, were reported in Toronto.
He also said that almost all of the infected people are men, with only two reported in female patients. In general, the virus does not spread easily and is transmitted by prolonged close contact through respiratory droplets, direct contact with skin lesions or body fluids, or through contaminated clothing or bedding.
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