RALEIGH, N.C. — Concerns are growing in North Carolina after the World Health Organization declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency.
Vaccination efforts are underway across the state, including in Cumberland County, which Monday became the latest county to offer the shot to help combat the spread.
North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services says there are currently 34 confirmed monkeypox cases in the state. And while anyone can get monkeypox, health experts say right now people in the LGBTQ community are at an increased risk for contracting the disease.
What You Need To Know
Cumberland County latest county to offer vaccine services for monkeypox as statewide efforts continue
The LGBT Center of Raleigh to shift focus and resources from COVID-19 to monkeypox education
Public health expert Noah Riley wants to stress that anyone can get monkeypox, even though right now it’s mainly impacting men who are intimate with other men
According to the N.C. DHHS, nearly all monkeypox cases in North Carolina happened when men were intimate with men. The LGBT Center of Raleigh says it’s shifting resources from COVID-19 to now deal with monkeypox.
“We’re hoping to utilize some of those [grant] funds and shifting in our second year of the grant to monkeypox vaccination,” said Noah Riley, project director of the LGBT Center’s vaccine equity and access program. “And getting the community information about where to get vaccinated, how to get vaccinated and tested and trying to increase availability of that.”
Riley received their Master of Public Health degree from UNC in May 2022. They worry the LGBTQ community may be stigmatized when it comes to this disease.
“Most people so far have seen it as sort of a gay disease already and have sort of, identified it as that. And if they have heard it in passing, then they think monkeypox doesn’t have to deal with them,” Riley said.“But already we’re seeing that spread beyond the LGBT community, and so once this gets into general population spread, and school comes back into session in the fall, and kids start transmitting monkeypox, it’ll be a different story, and people will be kind of caught off guard. Whereas I think everyone should be paying attention already, and taking care of their own health and taking care of their own sexual health.”
Vaccine demand has outpaced supply in the U.S., including in North Carolina. They have a health fair planned for August.
“We had been talking with Wake County Public Health about having monkeypox vaccines available at that event,” Riley said. “Unfortunately due to the very low supply available right now, that’s very limited, so they’re not able to bring those out for the actual health fair.”
At the fair, the center will make a big push to educate the community on monkeypox. The White House has been criticized for not moving quickly enough on this virus, saying monkeypox can be contained with vaccines and testing. The U.S. government says it plans to ramp up vaccine doses for monkeypox by the end of the month.