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“(The vaccine gets its full effect or almost its effect after a week. That’s very encouraging. It’s a relief, just like the COVID vaccine.”
Despite being vaccinated against smallpox when he was young, a friend convinced Raymond Boudreau to be very careful and he was inoculated with smallpox on Wednesday. Photo by John Mahoney / Montreal Gazette
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Raymond Boudreau was able to talk about the vaccination clinic for a friend’s Santé Montréal smallpox vaccination clinic, which he had heard at his hairdresser’s on Wednesday afternoon.
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“The hairdresser said they were making vaccines here; we weren’t even aware of it, ”Boudreau said of the Maisonneuve Blvd. E. Clinic on the edge of the gay village.
Boudreau’s friend convinced him to get vaccinated too.
“He told me it was worth it,” the 70-year-old said. “I said, ‘I don’t know.’ I was already vaccinated against smallpox when I was little. He told me it would be even safer to get vaccinated (again), so here I am.”
Montreal is the epicenter of the monkeypox virus in North America, with 126 confirmed cases as of Tuesday, accounting for 7.9% of the total 1,600 confirmed cases of the World Health Organization in 39 countries so far this year, which has caused 72 deaths.
All cases in Montreal so far are among men, although the WHO has said that the high number of cases in this group may be, as seen before, the product of “positive behavior. health research in this demographic group “.
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This behavior was shown on Wednesday, as several Montrealers responded to the call of the municipal and provincial health authorities’ intensified vaccination campaign, aimed at “men who plan or have sex with men.”
Pierre (who preferred not to give his real name), 55, looked elegant at the exit of the clinic in a lime green dress. He wasn’t too worried about getting the monkey’s smallpox, but he was vaccinated just to be sure.
“I’m not really the type to go to clubs and have casual encounters,” he said, “but if the opportunity never arises, it’s more of it (which is why I came).”
Kyle, 32, knows of friends of friends who contracted the virus.
“It didn’t seem like a good experience for them,” he said, “and from everything I’ve read, (the vaccine) is safe and effective, so I thought I’d get it.”
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Leaving the clinic, he felt good about his decision and prepared for what could happen in the coming months.
“I definitely feel more protected for the summer season,” he said. “We’ll have a lot of new people in town, a lot of mixed people, so it feels good to be protected at that level.”
The virus appears to be transmitted through close and prolonged physical contact, Quebec says. The disease can be transmitted five days before the onset of symptoms and until all lesions have been covered with bark.
Danny Lapierre, 52, was vaccinated because “I’m in contact with a lot of people in the gay community, so there’s a potential danger,” he said. “And I have a stronger reaction to STIs (sexually transmitted infections): I know there’s no link, but I didn’t want to be very sick.”
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He wasn’t sure he felt safer from being vaccinated, but he knew he had done the right thing.
“I did what I had to do, voila,” he said, adding that they had punctured him “to prevent the spread, for me and not to spread it, too. I’m a good soldier. You tell me that do it and I’m leaving “.
Michael (not his real name), 56, was vaccinated not out of immediate concern, but as a precaution.
“Cases are still very low,” he said, “but it could be extended, so just be prepared in case you do.”
When asked if the monkeypox threat was changing people’s behavior, he replied that “I would say it limited behavior.”
He came after hearing about the vaccination campaign in the Tuesday night news and was happy with his choice.
“Apparently (the vaccine arrives) to its full effect or almost to its effect after a week,” he said. “This is very encouraging. It’s a relief, as is the COVID vaccine.”
tdunlevy@postmedia.com
twitter.com/TChaDunlevy
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Montreal is the epicenter of the smallpox outbreak in North America with 126 cases
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WHO investigates reports of monkeypox virus in semen
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