Men who have sex with men should be among the first group to receive the monkeypox vaccine, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday.
“It’s therefore essential that all countries work closely with communities of men who have sex with men to design and deliver effective information and services, and to adopt measures that protect the health, human rights and dignity of affected communities,” he said, as reported by Newsweek.
The World Health Organization has declared the monkeypox virus a global health emergency as it continues to spread. The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported nearly 17,000 cases as of July 22.
On Friday, the Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed 211 monkeypox cases in the state, all among men, and with the vast majority living in metro Atlanta, Helena Oliviero of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Although anyone can contract monkeypox, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Saturday, this outbreak appears to affect men who have sex with men, and especially those with multiple partners.
During an interview with MSNBC on Sunday, Fauci said: “If you look at the truly broad protective nature, you really want to get people who are at risk because of behavior. For example, the MSM (men who have sex with men) population who are on pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV—the very fact that they are on pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV would immediately put them into that classification where they very likely should get vaccinated in a preventive way.
“So there are two pills to that; one in which you know you’ve been exposed — clearly those people — but ultimately, people who are at risk through sexual networks or what have you.”
Paul Hunter, a professor of health protection at the Norwich School of Medicine at the University of East Anglia in the U.K., agreed, but wants to take it step further.
He told Newsweek last week “he was concerned about a risk of transmission in heterosexual networks as well and that he personally would want to see vaccines being given to female sex workers, too.”
About the Author