Concerns about monkeypox vaccination rate with potential pride

Within the gay community, there are concerns about the rate of GGD vaccination against monkeypox. Since the beginning of this week, a hundred men from the risk group have been invited every day for such a shot. “What worries me most is that the outbreak has not been contained and that we will be blamed for that,” one said.

Most infections in the Netherlands to date have been found in men who had varying sexual contacts with other men. So this is one of the high-risk groups that can receive the vaccination since Monday.

“I hear a lot of people around me now have monkeypox and have been asking for a vaccine for a long time. For many, it’s actually too late,” says the man who just shot Ray.

stigma

Given the pace of GGD, some worry that another outbreak will stigmatize gay and bisexual men, especially if more children contract the virus in the future. “My main concern is that vaccination is taking its way too slowly and that way the outbreak is not contained, and that we will be blamed for that.”

This fear is reinforced by the pride, which begins next Saturday. “In recent weeks, there has been a lot of warning in the news about pride being an event where a lot of spread can happen. (Fear is, ed.) that it would actually happen and that people would say, ‘Look?’, actually gays did it.”

“I raised all the sails”

GGD expects to be able to vaccinate more people per day in the short term. On Monday, fifty people were invited to be vaccinated, since on Tuesday there were a hundred a day and from next week two hundred a day. From there, we go even further. However, GGD assures that everything still depends on the availability of staff.

A GGD spokesperson said in response to AT5. We have done our best to do this as quickly as possible. However, we want this to be done carefully, and we are dealing with less staff availability, for example, in the summer.”