Eligible Albertans can now get vaccinated against monkeypox in nine cities across the province.
The vaccines became available in Calgary and Edmonton in late July, but are now also offered in Edson, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Red Deer and St. Paul.
Alberta Health says 2,213 Albertans have signed up for a monkeypox vaccine so far, and as of Thursday, 1,498 doses have been administered.
The vast majority of vaccinations have taken place in Alberta’s two largest cities with 513 doses in Edmonton and 726 in Calgary, according to Alberta Health.
Alberta has so far confirmed 19 cases of the virus, well below provinces such as Ontario and Quebec, which have 478 and 425 cases respectively.
Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious disease expert at the University of Alberta, says that while the risk is low, she’s encouraged by vaccine uptake so far.
“We should be able to prevent infection quite effectively by giving people vaccines before they come in contact with the virus,” he said.
“By doing that, you’re protecting the individual and you’re also protecting the community.”
VACCINE ELIGIBILITY
Albertans can get the monkeypox vaccine if they are 18 years of age or older and:
- Transgender, cisgender, or two-spirit people who identify as gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) and who meet at least one of the following three criteria:
- Having received a recent diagnosis (within the last 6 months) of a sexually transmitted infection;
- You are planning to have, or within the past 90 days have had, sexual relations outside of a mutually monogamous relationship; or
- Have attended or may be planning to do so in the past 90 days (for example, bathhouses, sex clubs), or work/volunteer in such settings.
- Any sexual contact of the persons described above, i
- Staff and volunteers in a social setting or place or event where sexual activity may take place between men (individuals described above).
ALBERTA HEALTH VACCINATION STRATEGY
Until now, most cases of monkeypox have occurred in men who have sex with other men.
It has resulted in Alberta Health recently changing its vaccination strategy to offer pre-exposure shots to certain groups of sexually active gay and bisexual men.
Saxinger stresses, however, that the monkeypox virus can be transmitted to anyone through physical contact.
“In past outbreaks, it actually spread primarily to people who worked with animals infected with the virus, specifically veterinarians and children who played with prairie dogs,” he said.
“This is not a ‘men having sex with men’ specific virus, it’s just the community it’s spreading to right now and that’s the community where efforts really need to be focused to try to contain it before it spreads further.”
ELIMINATION OF THE STIGMA
The decision to get vaccinated against monkeypox was a big one for Michael Connolly, who received his first dose two weeks ago.
As a local member of the gay community, he says it was important to do his part, but also to realize that the virus does not discriminate based on sexual orientation.
“Anyone can get monkeypox and it doesn’t necessarily require sexual contact, so that’s part of the stigma, because you see a lot of people targeting the population of men who have sex with men,” Connolly said.
“It’s very different from HIV or AIDS, and we shouldn’t think it’s exactly the same or spreads the same way. We have to be careful.”
Connolly notes that her experience with Alberta Health Services was positive, as staff members were kind and understanding, but others are still encouraging provinces to develop a more inclusive approach to the vaccine.
Dr. Kristopher Wells is Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Public Understanding of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth at MacEwan University in Edmonton.
He says the Alberta government needs to do more to change its messaging about the monkeypox vaccine by better communicating with members of the LGBTQ community.
“The communication has a very demoralizing and judgmental tone,” Wells said.
“It’s certainly not sex positive, it actually reinforces a lot of the unfortunate stereotypes people have about gay men who are hypersexualized and not monogamous. I think it creates this false dichotomy within the community of what constitutes a ‘good gay’ and a ‘ bad gay’”.
Wells adds that the criteria for the vaccine should be written differently in a more open and inclusive fashion to reach the maximum number of people who want to get vaccinated.
He also mentioned that the process of getting the vaccine involves giving healthcare workers a lot of personal information, which can cause members of the LGBTQ community to avoid getting the vaccine altogether.
“We know right away that maybe those most at risk for monkeypox won’t step forward and get vaccinated because they don’t want to risk their confidentiality and want to ensure their anonymity,” Wells said.
“We need to be aware of these types of messages and want to be careful not to reinforce outdated stereotypes and do more harm to the LGBTQ community in terms of acceptance and social awareness and inclusion.”
Alberta Health has confirmed it will work with community organizations such as Calgary Pride to increase awareness of Monkeypox during the celebrations taking place from August 26 to September 5.
WHAT IS MONKEYPOX?
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monkeypox is a rare disease that was first found in the rainforests of West and Central Africa.
The West African strain has a mortality rate of one to three percent, while the Central African strain has a mortality rate of about 10 percent.
Despite its name, monkeypox is actually a misnomer, as it most commonly infects small African mammals and rodents. The virus was first named in 1957 when two outbreaks of a smallpox-like disease were discovered in macaques eating crabs that were being used for research purposes.
The virus is transmitted primarily through respiratory droplets, although transmission is generally low. Symptoms include muscle aches, fever, headaches, smallpox-like rashes and swollen lymph nodes.
In May 2022, new cases of smallpox began spreading across Europe and North America, but the infection is a milder form of smallpox that has seen a gradual increase in cases over the past decade.
Monkeypox is most commonly spread between humans and animals through close contact, contact with sores or body fluids, contact with belongings that have come into contact with the sores, or eating infected meat.
The virus can resolve on its own in most cases within two to four weeks, but there is no proven treatment or cure.
According to the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, the smallpox vaccine is a variation of the smallpox vaccine that should be given in two doses one month apart.