Monkeypox a new worry for gay and bi men

[Lazarus]

After reading this I am afraid to do anything with anybody untilI can get the vaccine which seems nearly impossible in NYC now. This sounds worse than Covid to me. (Which I had for 3 weeks in January 2021.)
 

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-health-and-wellness/lesions-headaches-debilitating-pain-gay-men-monkeypox-share-stories-rcna36789

[samhexum]

[+ Tygerscent]

Another new “something” this guy was telling me about: Sox Pox… 

 He had it… apparently had an incredible impact on his social life. His condition was so infectious it was impossible for him to social distance from anybody… He sent me a picture… Apparently these are the symptoms. You will clearly see them in the picture. If you have this, you may actually have sox pox. 

Edited July 7, 2022 by Tygerscent

[+ nycman]

Just got back from getting vaccinated in Montreal. 

It was extremely easy. They were very friendly and
happy to vaccinate a visiting American. Zero wait, 
and the entire process took 30-40 minutes. 

Thanks to those on here who helped me figure out
the logistics. If anyone has questions about the
process,  feel free to PM me. 

[menaughty]

Hey. So how does the monkeypox vaccine helps? Is it like Covid where you can get but with less severe symptoms because of the vaccine?

I am in Texas. Idk even think this is a priority atm in Texas  but would love to know if any JYNNEOS is going to be available in Dallas or closer to Dallas. 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

13 hours ago, nycman said:

Just got back from getting vaccinated in Montreal. 

It was extremely easy. They were very friendly and
happy to vaccinate a visiting American. Zero wait, 
and the entire process took 30-40 minutes. 

Thanks to those on here who helped me figure out
the logistics. If anyone has questions about the
process,  feel free to PM me. 

I got mine in Toronto last week.  Damn, Canada makes it easy (and friendly).

I'm setup to get my second dose in a few weeks back in San Antonio.

Even one dose provides solid immediate protection.

[Luv2play]

Since many Americans are getting their vaccination in Montreal I decided to get mine there too. In fact I just got it and am waiting for the 15 minutes watch. It took only 15 minutes from start to shot. 

The place is full of hunky men all wearing shorts. Many well put together. Makes the whole experience even fun. Btw there are quite a few Americans here today. Can tell by their passports which have clutched in their hands

 😀

[jerryskater]

Thanks for the info Luv2play.  Is cost covered by insurance?  I'm on medicare.

[Luv2play]

2 hours ago, jerryskater said:

Thanks for the info Luv2play.  Is cost covered by insurance?  I'm on medicare.

It is free of charge in Montreal. I was out of province and I assume the Americans got it free as well.

[Luv2play]

Another point I would make is that the shot itself is painless. Its not administered the same way as the Covid shot. The technician pinched my tricep muscle (back of the bicep) and inserted the needle. I didn't even feel it go in. And no sensitively after, unlike the Coved shot which resulted in a tender spot on my arm for a couple of days each of the 4 times. 

So far its over 7 hours and no reactions. 

Edited July 8, 2022 by Luv2play

[Luv2play]

 

Todays NYT has an article on Monkeypox by Apoorva Mandavilli that suggests the US may be losing the fight against Monkeypox. 

It does show the clinic in Montreal where I was today and a guy getting the shot in the triceps as I outlined above. I noticed they had staff cleaning each chair after a client had used it so their sanitary practices seemed up to snuff. And everyone wore a mask, as the picture also shows.

[FewBricksShy]

1 hour ago, Luv2play said:

Todays NYT has an article on Monkeypox by Apoorva Mandavilli that suggests the US may be losing the fight against Monkeypox. 

The fight against monkeypox? I really feel like this is hysteria in search of a crisis. I hadn’t  heard of monkeypox in weeks until stumbled upon this thread here. I’m not saying ignore it, but it’s nothing at all like COVID. People need to give up this desire to be petrified. When people are afraid about something, they can be manipulated into doing any number of things. Caution and vigilance is one thing. Fear and overreaction is another. 

[FewBricksShy]

That same article from the NYTimes says there are 700 cases nationwide of monkeypox. It’s not a pandemic.

“In San Francisco, B, a 43-year-old medical writer who asked that his name be withheld for privacy reasons, found himself shivering uncontrollably with a high fever on June 14, eight days after he had multiple sexual encounters at a bathhouse in Chicago.“

In my opinion, this is the issue. People are being stupid. A global confirmed monkeypox case count of under 10k is not a huge problem if people aren’t stupid about their behavior. Multiple sexual encounters at a bathhouse falls under stupid behavior that risks negative consequences, if you ask me. Monkeypox or something else. 

Edited July 9, 2022 by FewBricksShy

[+ jeezopete]

1 hour ago, FewBricksShy said:

People need to give up this desire to be petrified.

I'm not petrified, but I wear a seatbelt every time I'm in the car, I lock my doors whether I'm in the house or out, I change the batteries in my smoke detector. Why wouldn't I get vaccinated to hopefully prevent a nasty illness? I get my flu shot, I've had tetanus shots, I plan to get the shingles vaccine soon, had my Covid vaccine & booster. I do these things as precautions. 

(Note: My father died from injuries in an apartment fire. I'm not petrified, but I do have smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher, because I want to be prepared.)

[+ nycman]

14 hours ago, Luv2play said:

I assume the Americans got it free as well.

They didn’t charge this American anything at all.  

A few hours later I felt a little crappy, sore arm, mild headache. 
I took some Motrin, and was fine after that. 

Just as a side note, in America the CDC is giving 2 doses one month apart,
if you’ve never had the smallpox vaccine. Only one shot if you did have the 
smallpox vaccine. In Canada, they’re only giving one shot, regardless of 
your smallpox vaccination history. 

Edited July 9, 2022 by nycman

[+ BlueSky]

I'm not sure how prevalent Monkeypox is in Mexico.  But I'm on vacation here and wondering if anyone knows how to get the vaccine.  Is it even available?

[SirBillybob]

3 hours ago, BlueSky said:

I'm not sure how prevalent Monkeypox is in Mexico.  But I'm on vacation here and wondering if anyone knows how to get the vaccine.  Is it even available?

About a dozen cases reported to date. You cannot access MVA-BN there. 

Edited July 9, 2022 by SirBillybob

[FewBricksShy]

9 hours ago, jeezopete said:

I'm not petrified, but I wear a seatbelt every time I'm in the car, I lock my doors whether I'm in the house or out, I change the batteries in my smoke detector. Why wouldn't I get vaccinated to hopefully prevent a nasty illness? I get my flu shot, I've had tetanus shots, I plan to get the shingles vaccine soon, had my Covid vaccine & booster. I do these things as precautions. 

(Note: My father died from injuries in an apartment fire. I'm not petrified, but I do have smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher, because I want to be prepared.)

Getting a vaccine is one thing. Saying we’re “losing the fight” is another. Getting a vaccine makes rational sense. Saying we’re “losing the fight” breeds panic. My mother died of COVID. A nasty, nasty death. I’m vaxxed etc. I still got COVID a few weeks ago. I took the therapeutics prescribed by my doctor and I’m fine. I’m moving on with my life. I’ll get vaxxed for monkeypox as soon as my pharmacy gets it. Until then, I’ll be careful who I’m exchanging bodily fluids with. I’ll do these things as precautions.

[SirBillybob]

12 hours ago, FewBricksShy said:

That same article from the NYTimes says there are 700 cases nationwide of monkeypox. It’s not a pandemic.

“In San Francisco, B, a 43-year-old medical writer who asked that his name be withheld for privacy reasons, found himself shivering uncontrollably with a high fever on June 14, eight days after he had multiple sexual encounters at a bathhouse in Chicago.“

In my opinion, this is the issue. People are being stupid. A global confirmed monkeypox case count of under 10k is not a huge problem if people aren’t stupid about their behavior. Multiple sexual encounters at a bathhouse falls under stupid behavior that risks negative consequences, if you ask me. Monkeypox or something else. 

You are missing a key fact about transmission and not decoupling it from, say, SARS-CoV-2 that targets indiscriminately. Cases are TRACEABLE to these high risk MSM settings, meaning that secondary transmission to contacts outside of these settings, in completely non-sexual contexts, accounts for a subset of new case incidence, essentially moving progressively more towards indiscriminate selection. You must have missed the post about the Chicago physician serving predominantly the gay male community. It is true, though, that the ‘circuit-breaker’ of transmission is most aptly situated in the high-risk settings. 

Additionally, the per capita incidence denominator makes it seem that incidence potential is negligible. The more appropriate incidence denominator is a small proportion of the general population. I arbitrarily set it at 1% of the gen pop, but specific to Canada rolling incidence count. Given contagion period, not adjusting for ascertainment bias of undercount that perhaps should be incorporated into a risk algorithm, the probability of minimally one case of Simian Pox in a high-risk cluster of 25 men is about 2%; in a cluster of 100 men about 7%. The metric changes if one stratifies the high-risk subset as a different percentage.

Edited July 9, 2022 by SirBillybob

[SirBillybob]

33 minutes ago, FewBricksShy said:

Getting a vaccine is one thing. Saying we’re “losing the fight” is another. Getting a vaccine makes rational sense. Saying we’re “losing the fight” breeds panic. My mother died of COVID. A nasty, nasty death. I’m vaxxed etc. I still got COVID a few weeks ago. I took the therapeutics prescribed by my doctor and I’m fine. I’m moving on with my life. I’ll get vaxxed for monkeypox as soon as my pharmacy gets it. Until then, I’ll be careful who I’m exchanging bodily fluids with. I’ll do these things as precautions.

I hear you. I don’t entirely disagree about the hyperbole of reality descriptors. Sadly, such terms may be applicable to fellows less rational than you. However, you can always on your own time investigate the science regarding transmission reproduction metrics and how these point to lack of containment even amongst non-index cases (ie, not high risk settings). It’s a slow burn that merits close surveillance and not dilly-dallying regarding prophylaxis. In a perfect world the prevention solution would be largely behavioural. A huge proportion of the population is non-immune viz orthopox viruses and cannot rely on behavioural containment. 

Edited July 9, 2022 by SirBillybob

[Luv2play]

8 hours ago, nycman said:

They didn’t charge this American anything at all.  

A few hours later I felt a little crappy, sore arm, mild headache. 
I took some Motrin, and was fine after that. 

Just as a side note, in America the CDC is giving 2 doses one month apart,
if you’ve never had the smallpox vaccine. Only one shot if you did have the 
smallpox vaccine. In Canada, they’re only giving one shot, regardless of 
your smallpox vaccination history. 

I still have my smallpox vaccination certificate from 1966 and it states quite clearly on it that it is only guaranteed for three years. I showed it to the nurse yesterday and she couldn't find it on my medical file. I wasn't surprised given the age of the document. I don't know it had any residual effect as anything I have read is inconclusive. 

The 1966 shot was a booster to the vaccination I received in the 1950's in grade school. So the two vaccinations maybe set up my immune system so that the shot yesterday will be even more effective.

However, Quebec hasn't ruled out a second shot for those who have only had this one vaccination.  I imagine if cases continue to spread they may announce something in the fall 

Edited July 9, 2022 by Luv2play

[Luv2play]

1 hour ago, FewBricksShy said:

Getting a vaccine is one thing. Saying we’re “losing the fight” is another. Getting a vaccine makes rational sense. Saying we’re “losing the fight” breeds panic. My mother died of COVID. A nasty, nasty death. I’m vaxxed etc. I still got COVID a few weeks ago. I took the therapeutics prescribed by my doctor and I’m fine. I’m moving on with my life. I’ll get vaxxed for monkeypox as soon as my pharmacy gets it. Until then, I’ll be careful who I’m exchanging bodily fluids with. I’ll do these things as precautions.

The writer of the article was simply saying that the US is poorly prepared to deal with new pathogens or even old ones that surface in the US. This has been shown time and again going back to HIV.

The fact that several American high profile posters on this forum have had to fly to Canada to readily access the Monkeypox vaccine shows this to be true. No panic mongering, just an assessment of the facts on the ground.

[FewBricksShy]

1 hour ago, SirBillybob said:

the probability of minimally one case of Simian Pox in a high-risk cluster of 25 men is about 2%; in a cluster of 100 men about 7%

So…to avoid geek speak, mitigate your chances by not engaging in high-risk behavior. I’m not shocked or surprised by medical staff getting diseases. That’s part of the risk of being in the field. Unfortunate that it happens, but if their patients – such as men who insist on engaging in known high-risk behaviors – get sick, they’re at higher risk of getting sick. I as a general rule done share fluids with my doctor. Now – if I have a car accident and land in the hospital, there’s potential. But monkeypox not simply floating around in the air that I have to worry I’m going to get it from going to the grocery store. 

[FewBricksShy]

1 hour ago, SirBillybob said:

I hear you. I don’t entirely disagree about the hyperbole of reality descriptors. Sadly, such terms may be applicable to fellows less rational than you. However, you can always on your own time investigate the science regarding transmission reproduction metrics and how these point to lack of containment even amongst non-index cases (ie, not high risk settings). It’s a slow burn that merits close surveillance and not dilly-dallying regarding prophylaxis. In a perfect world the prevention solution would be largely behavioural. A huge proportion of the population is non-immune viz orthopox viruses and cannot rely on behavioural containment. 

Makes me think of the tree-hugging antivaxxers in the Pacific Northwest. Now we have measles outbreaks up there when we didn’t before. People’s behavior coupled with stupidity makes for a host of problems for us all. And then add media hysteria and you have a powder keg for reactivity. 

[SirBillybob]

57 minutes ago, FewBricksShy said:

So…to avoid geek speak, mitigate your chances by not engaging in high-risk behavior. I’m not shocked or surprised by medical staff getting diseases. That’s part of the risk of being in the field. Unfortunate that it happens, but if their patients – such as men who insist on engaging in known high-risk behaviors – get sick, they’re at higher risk of getting sick. I as a general rule done share fluids with my doctor. Now – if I have a car accident and land in the hospital, there’s potential. But monkeypox not simply floating around in the air that I have to worry I’m going to get it from going to the grocery store. 

You are conflating higher risk in terms of susceptibility, by virtue of subgroup membership, with susceptibility according to a gradient of behavioural risk. However, low level physical contact is itself a risk factor. Smallpox vaccination historically was never predicated on a hierarchy of promiscuity, for want of a better term. If you are proposing both relative celibacy, not a terrible idea in scientific principle as far as breaking transmission cycles, and dissociating from others that pose secondary transmission potential (as if we have the capacity to be assortative in this way) then we are getting into the realm of the absurd in terms of containment. AFAIK many MSM pursuing MVA-BN are not substituting protective inoculation for the prevention conferred by harm reduction, the latter itself an obvious no-brainer strategy for attenuating the prospects of catching this virus, as you correctly identify. 

Edited July 9, 2022 by SirBillybob