New Orleans bar to offer 300 monkeypox vaccines in shot-for-shot event | Health care/Hospitals

A New Orleans bar is doing a shot-for-shot monkeypox vaccine event next week, reminiscent of the ones that were popular when COVID-19 vaccines first became available.

The event is Tuesday (Aug. 9) at The Phoenix Bar, a 24-hour gay bar in the Marigny. The event is from 4 pm to 7 pm, and 300 vaccines will be given out on a first-come, first-serve basis to people who meet the eligibility criteria, according to information from the business. The event is being held in partnership with the Louisiana Office of Public Health.

Related: Here’s what you need to know about monkeypox in Louisiana

Medical staff will be administering the first of the two-shot series of the Jynneos vaccine. The two shots need to be administered 28 days apart. Read more about the vaccine.

HIV testing, COVID vaccines and PrEP counseling also will be available at the event, according to the business.

After you get your monkeypox shot, you’ll get a free shot of alcohol, according to information from the bar. They didn’t say what kind of liquor is included, but said there will be free bottled water, snacks, music and drink specials.

Monkeypox is a potentially serious viral illness that typically involves flu-like symptoms, swelling of the lymph nodes and a rash that includes bumps that are initially filled with fluid before scabbing over, according to the Louisiana Health Department. Most infections last two to four weeks.

Are you eligible?

This is the eligibility criteria, as outlined by the bar, to receive a monkeypox vaccine at Tuesday’s event:

There are two groups currently eligible for monkeypox vaccine: (1) individuals with known exposures, as well as (2) individuals with high-risk exposures in the last 14 days. Please provide a verbal “Yes” if you meet one of the current eligibility criteria to receive a vaccine.

1. Have you been exposed to someone who has contracted monkeypox? If you answer “yes,” you should report this immediately to the Office of Public Health at 1-800-256-2748.

2. The second group was determined based on best practices identified in other states as well as limited data collected regarding Louisiana’s monkeypox cases to date:

Gay, bisexual, same gender loving, or other men who have sex with men AND

• Have had intimate or sexual contact with multiple or anonymous partners in last 14 days OR

• Have given or received money or other goods/services in exchange for sex in the last 14 days OR

• Have had intimate or sexual contact with other men in a social or sexual venue in the last 14 days.

• Individuals of any sex/gender identity who have given or received money or other goods/services in exchange for sex in the last 14 days.

Read more about the event.

public health emergency

US officials on Thursday declared a public health emergency over the outbreak, which has infected more than 6,600 Americans. Monkeypox has been identified in several individuals far in the New Orleans area, and state officials said there are likely more undiagnosed cases.

Here’s what you need to know about monkeypox via the Louisiana Health Department.

What are the symptoms of monkeypox?

Symptoms of monkeypox can include:

• Fever
• Headache
• Muscle aches and backache
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Chills
• Exhaustion
• 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.

Sometimes people get a rash first, followed by other symptoms. Others only experience a rash. Some cases in the current US outbreak have experienced only isolated rashes in the genital region or other body parts.

How is monkeypox spread?

Monkeypox spreads in different ways, officials said. Monkeypox virus is most often spread through direct contact with a rash or sores of someone who has the virus.

It can also spread through contact with clothing, bedding and other items used by a person with monkeypox, or from respiratory droplets that can be passed through prolonged face-to-face contact, including kissing, cuddling or sex.

People who do not have monkeypox symptoms cannot spread the virus to others.

According to the CDC, early data suggests that gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men make up a high number of cases. However, anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has monkeypox is at risk.

What should individuals with concerns do?

People can take basic steps to prevent the spread of monkeypox. Anyone with concerns that they have been exposed or infected should refrain from intimate or close personal contact and seek medical attention. If you do not have a healthcare provider, visit a parish health unit near you. Laboratory testing for monkeypox is now widely available, officials said.

Treatment option?

Treatments and vaccinations are available for monkeypox, but physicians say bureaucratic red tape is hindering their ability to respond to and contain the outbreak.

The monkeypox treatment, TPOXX, is only available to patients and doctors under a special CDC status because it is usually used to treat smallpox, not monkeypox.

The expanded access status requires physicians to go through more than 100 pages of paperwork each time they prescribe it, and between the forms and administrative requirements, a patient visit to initiate this medication can take between one and three hours.

As a result, many people who need the drug are not receiving the necessary treatment — and the bureaucratic hurdles are hitting uninsured and minority communities particularly hard, said Mary Foote, the medical director for emergency preparedness and response in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Vaccine for monkeypox?

Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos is one of two vaccines that can be given in the US to prevent monkeypox. The government has many more doses of the other vaccine — an older smallpox vaccine called ACAM2000 that is considered to have a greater risk of side effects and is not recommended for people who have HIV. So it’s the Jynneos vaccine that officials have been using as a primary weapon against the outbreak.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the vaccine for people who have already been exposed to the virus and their presumed contacts. That includes men who have recently had sex with men at parties or in other gatherings in cities where monkeypox cases have been identified.

The CDC estimates that about 1.5 million American men are eligible for the vaccine based on their HIV status and other risk factors.

Good news came Wednesday when federal health officials said thousands more doses of Bavarian Nordic’s vaccine are expected to begin shipping soon.

The US government has purchased more than 1.1 million completed doses of the vaccine produced by Bavarian Nordic in Denmark. But the company said earlier this week it needed authorization from an on-site FDA inspection before it could begin sending most of them to the US

State and local officials in the US say the limited vaccine supplies aren’t keeping pace with the growing number of people seeking appointments.

Wire reports from The Associated Press and CQ-Roll Call via the Tribune Content Agency were used in this story.