Sonoma County HIV/AIDS advocates spearhead monkeypox vaccine clinics

Local HIV/AIDS advocates are spearheading monkeypox vaccine clinics Tuesday and Wednesday in Santa Rosa, hoping to build on recent successes that have seen a decline in infections locally and elsewhere.

The clinics are scheduled at the offices of Face2Face, a longtime advocacy group that supports the health and well-being of people living with HIV/AIDS. Sonoma County Public Health staff will be administering about 100 doses of monkeypox vaccine each day, said Gary Saperstein, director of development for Face2Face.

“Fortunately, cases of monkeypox are declining everywhere, which is the good thing,” Saperstein said. “Many thanks to the LGBTQ community, who from the very beginning has been raising hell about it and trying to get the government, whether it be federal or state, to get vaccines out there.”

Saperstein said that despite declining rates of monkeypox transmission, this is no time for complacency.

“The more people we can get vaccinated, the better we are able to continue the decline cases of monkeypox,” he said.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the deputy coordinator of the White House’s monkeypox response team, on Thursday said the nation’s goal was to “eradicate” or “eliminate” the virus. According to The New York Times, Daskalakis said he expected that in time cases would decline to only an occasional handful, allowing public health officials to isolate and vaccinate those infected.

Monkeypox is part of the orthopoxvirus genus, which also includes the variola virus — which causes smallpox — and cowpox virus. Monkeypox is not related to chickenpox.

Infections have occurred primarily among men who have sex with men. Monkeypox often appears as a rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals or anus.

Symptoms are similar to that of the flu, such as fever and low energy. Monkeypox infectious are rarely fatal in developed nations but can be very painful.

Currently, there have been nearly 25,000 confirmed or probable cases reported in the U.S. In Sonoma County, a total of 45 confirmed or probable cases of monkeypox have been reported so far, according to Dr. Kismet Baldwin, the county’s deputy health officer.

“We are continuing to see a decline in new cases, which is similar to what is being seen across the state,” Baldwin said.

On Friday, Lake County health officials reported they had received confirmation of a monkeypox infection. The case involved an adult Lake County resident who had recently traveled and later became aware of their exposure.

Officials said the individual, who was symptomatic, is isolating and recovering at home, and there is no evidence the virus is spreading in the local community.

The two monkeypox vaccine clinics will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at Face2Face, 873 Second St. in downtown Santa Rosa. Saperstein said the clinics will also offer testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

For Face2Face advocates, this year’s monkeypox outbreak triggered haunting memories of the HIV/AIDS crisis and the hard work it took to address it.

“We've been there before and we don't want to go back there again,” Saperstein said. “The (LGBTQ+) community had to lead the charge during the AIDS crisis... and we feel like here we are leading the charge again to combat this disease.”

You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @pressreno.