Monkeypox (MPV): Community Update, August 12th

One Colorado is advocating directly with local, statewide, and national partners to ensure the health and safety of LGBTQ+ Coloradans. Updates will be sent via email and posted here on our website in a timely manner as relevant information is available to keep our community up-to-date on resources, vaccine availability, testing sites, and more. We will refer to the Monkeypox Virus as MPV due to harmful and stigmatizing effects of using the former term. To read more about why we are making this decision, look here. This week, The Hill reported the World Health Organization is moving to rename the virus.

Several weeks ago we began to identify the ramifications of excluding our transgender, nonbinary and gender non-conforming (GNC) siblings from the MPV vaccine eligibility criteria in the state of Colorado. In meetings with state public health leaders, our team raised the concern to ascertain how we could best understand the risks, as well as what it would mean to update the eligibility criteria to be more inclusive. We received word yesterday late afternoon that the vaccine eligibility criteria would be updated to ensure the health and safety of all LGBTQ+ Coloradans!!

CDPHE Updated Vaccine Criteria | as of August 12, 2022

The new criteria for vaccine eligibility is:

• Anyone aged 18 years and older who has had close physical contact with someone who has monkeypox in the last 14 days.
• Gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men (MSM), or transgender, non-binary, or gender-diverse people aged 18 years and older who:
• Have had multiple sexual partners in the last 14 days, or
• Have had sexual partners they did not previously know in the last 14 days, or

• Have had close physical contact with other people in a venue where anonymous or group sex may occur.
• Anyone identified by public health as a known high-risk contact of someone who has monkeypox.

It is important to reiterate: there is nothing inherent to our sexual orientations or gender identities that put us at higher risk for getting MPV. However MPV is spreading among our LGBTQ+ community, so we need to know how to take precautions and when to seek medical care. Refer back to our update from this Monday, August 8th for the Activity Risk Rating chart and helpful tips for how to keep yourself safe.We appreciate CPDHE's partnership and collaboration. View the updated criteria and more vaccine information at: cdphe.colorado.gov/diseases-a-to-z/monkeypox

‍A quick vaccine update:

‍This Tuesday, August 9th, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) authorized an emergency use for the Jynneos vaccine to be administered through intradermal injection. Emergency use means:

• healthcare providers are now able to use the vaccine for folks 18 years of age and older determined to be at high risk of MPV,
• increasing the vaccine availability up to five-fold,
• and, authorizes vaccine via subcutaneous injection for those under 18 years of age determined to be at high risk.

Find updated vaccine locations and testing sites on CDPHE's website.Join us in collaboration with Colorado Collective Leadership Initiative participants, Sky Patron of One Colorado and Josh Miller of IDEAS xLab, for Let’s Talk About It: Monkeypox (MPV) - a space for the LGBTQ+ community and allies to come together and share thoughts, concerns, questions, and resources with each other.Each session is limited to 50 people, so grab your seat now!

Session 1: Wednesday, August 17 from 6-7pm MT - Register

‍Session 2: Tuesday, August 23 from 2-3pm MT - Register

‍Do you have questions, concerns, or a story to share about your MPV experience? Let us know. While we don’t have all the answers, we are working with local, statewide, and national experts to learn and share accurate information and resources. We are in this together.