WINNIPEG – Manitobans at higher risk of contracting monkeypox will be able to book immunization appointments online starting Monday.
After health experts called on the province to act proactively and offer preventive doses of the vaccine it has had since June instead of waiting for the virus to show up here, the Progressive Conservative government issued a press release Friday saying will expand the eligibility criteria and offer it. at three locations in Winnipeg.
“It shouldn’t have taken this long,” said NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara, noting the government didn’t act until pressure was put on it.
A health worker prepares a monkeypox vaccine in Montreal on July 23. Manitobans at higher risk of contracting monkeypox will be able to book vaccination appointments online starting Monday. (The Canadian Press)
“I believe very strongly that the government releasing any information is a direct result of the pressure being put on them by the public and public health expertise,” Asagwara said. The health critic called Friday’s press release “the bare minimum” and questioned why high-profile health leaders such as Health Minister Audrey Gordon or Public Health Director Dr. Brent Roussin did not they presented the news and did not answer questions.
On Friday, Gordon declined to answer questions about the rollout — how many vaccine doses Manitoba has and why the preventative shots weren’t available earlier. In an unrelated event, he said he would not comment before a press release was issued later in the day.
The announcement said Manitoba worked with the federal government to secure additional doses of the Imvamune vaccine, but did not say that is why it will be offering it as a preventative measure and not just to people who have been exposed. to infections
The province said those eligible for the vaccine are most at risk of infection: gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, who also meet at least one other requirement:
• Having received a diagnosis of chlamydia, gonorrhea and/or syphilis in the last two months.
• Having had two or more sexual partners in the last 21 days.
• Having attended places of sexual contact (such as baths or sex clubs) or planning to do so.
• Have or are planning to have anonymous sex in the past 21 days.
• Engage in or plan to engage in sex work, either as a worker or client.
From Monday, appointments can be booked online or by phone for people who meet the eligibility criteria. Vaccinations will be offered at Klinic Community Health (167 Sherbrook St.), Access Winnipeg West (280 Booth Dr.) and Our Own Health Center (230 Osborne St.).
Anyone can become infected with monkeypox, which the World Health Organization has declared a global health threat, but so far infections have been reported mostly among men who have sex with men, according to the Friday press release. So far, there have been no confirmed cases in the province.
The province did not take advantage of this “window of opportunity” before cases are reported in Manitoba to implement the vaccine and inform the public, Asagwara said.
“After the pandemic and everything we’ve learned as a result of COVID, it’s inexcusable that the government continues to be unreactive and deliberately skips important opportunities to be proactive,” said Asagwara, a nurse.
» Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont asked why it has taken so long to make the vaccine available to high-risk residents.
“The number of cases is doubling every two weeks, it’s highly contagious … and there’s a vaccine that can prevent it,” said Lamont, who wrote an open letter to the health minister a week ago urging the government to more to prepare for the arrival of the virus.
“Why wait?”
Several provinces have reported cases, including neighboring Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan.
“We live in a city with a Level 4 (national microbiology laboratory) and a university with some of the best public health and infectious disease experts in the world, and they’ve been ignored,” Lamont said.
» Winnipeg Free Press