KENOSHA ⏤ Kenosha County Public Health announced early this morning (Sept. 8) that it would hold a monkeypox (MPV) vaccination clinic today starting at 3 p.m.
The clinic will run until 7 p.m. at the Kenosha County Job Center, 8600 Sheridan Road. The county asks that eligible residents seeking vaccination use Entrance B on the northside of the building.
The vaccination is open to all those who meet vaccination criteria. (see “Criteria” at bottom of article)
County one of 17 approved to give vaccinations
Kenosha County Public Health is one of 17 approved MPV (monkeypox) vaccination providers in Wisconsin currently accepting appointments from the public.
“As vaccine availability increases and we learn more about this evolving situation, we look forward to sharing more information with the public.”
According to Freiheit, the county has entered a partnership with the LGBT Center of Southeast Wisconsin, Vivent Health and Kenosha Pride in the effort to reach those most at-risk.
What is MPV/monkeypox?
The virus spreads by skin-to-skin contact with an infected individual, contact with contaminated clothes or linen, and also through saliva droplets if lesions are in the mouth. The highest rate of current cases has been in men and trans women who have sex with men.
However, any person, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, can acquire and spread MPV. Prolonged close contact, face-to-face contact, or intimate physical contact with an infected person puts people at greater risk of infection.
Amid a growing monkeypox outbreak in the United States and globally, the White House declared MPV a national public health emergency on Aug. 4, 2022.
As of Wednesday, the CDC reported 21,274 confirmed MPV cases nationwide. In Wisconsin, officials have reported 63 confirmed cases, including two in Kenosha County.
Symptoms
Common symptoms of MPV can include:
- fever;
- headache;
- muscle aches;
- swollen lymph nodes;
- and also a rash that can look like pimples or blisters and may be painful or itchy. The rash may be on the face, the inside of the mouth, hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus.
Symptoms are usually mild or moderate, and a person is no longer infectious when their lesions have fallen off.
MPV is rarely fatal. Most people recover in two to four weeks without need for treatment, although they can use vaccinations and antiviral medications to prevent and treat MPV.
Because of the current short supply of vaccines, the CDC requires a HIPPA-compliant screening tool when people inquire about vaccination eligibility.
More information about MPV is available from the CDC at https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/index.html and also from the Wisconsin Department of Health at https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/outbreaks/index.htm.
Vaccination criteria
Kenoshans/Wisconsin residents who meet any of the following criteria can get vaccinated:
- Known contacts who are identified by public health through case investigation, contact tracing, and risk exposure assessments.
- Presumed contacts who may meet the following criteria: o People who know that a sexual partner in the past 14 days was diagnosed with monkeypox.
- People who attended an event or venue where there was known monkeypox exposure.
- Gay men, bisexual men, trans men and women, any men who have sex with men, and gender non-conforming/non-binary people who have had multiple sexual partners in the last 14 days.
People with elevated risk of monkeypox exposure
People considered to have an elevated risk of exposure to monkeypox in the future:
- Gay men, bisexual men, trans men and women, any men who have sex with men, and gender non-conforming/non-binary people who expect to have multiple or anonymous sex partners. This may include people living with HIV and people who take HIV pre-exposure because of increased risk of sexually transmitted infections.
- Clinical laboratory personnel who perform testing to diagnose orthopoxviruses, including those who use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for diagnosis of orthopoxviruses, including monkeypox virus.
- Research laboratory workers who directly handle cultures or animals contaminated or infected with orthopoxviruses that infect humans, including monkeypox virus, replication-competent vaccinia virus, or recombinant vaccinia viruses derived from replication-competent vaccinia virus strains.
- Certain health care providers working in sexual health clinics or other specialty settings directly caring for patients with sexually transmitted infections.
In addition to eligible people getting vaccinated, the Wisconsin Department of Health advises everyone should avoid having close skin-to-skin contact with others who have new or unexplained rash.
For those without a provider, help is also available by dialing 211 or 877-947- 2211, or texting your ZIP code to 898-211.
EP 14: Do what you can – Inside the Mind of Daniel Thompson
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