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State, local officials discuss response to monkeypox
Lake County Public Health said no cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in Lake County, and the risk to the general public is currently very low.
Public Health officials noted, however, the situation in California is, “rapidly evolving,” and so it is essential that at-risk individuals take this outbreak seriously.
Newsom’s proclamation enables emergency medical services personnel to administer monkeypox vaccines that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration, similar to the statutory authorization recently enacted for pharmacists to administer vaccines.
The state’s response to monkeypox builds on the infrastructure developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to deploy vaccine clinics and ensure inclusive and targeted outreach in partnership with local and community-based organizations.
“California is working urgently across all levels of government to slow the spread of monkeypox, leveraging our robust testing, contact tracing and community partnerships strengthened during the pandemic to ensure that those most at risk are our focus for vaccines, treatment and outreach,” said Gov. Newsom. “We’ll continue to work with the federal government to secure more vaccines, raise awareness about reducing risk, and stand with the LGBTQ community fighting stigmatization.”
To date, the state has received more than 61,000 vaccine doses and distributed more than 25,000 doses.
The state is also supporting overall vaccination efforts in collaboration with locals, including helping provide staffing and mobile clinics. The state allocates doses to local health departments based on a number of factors, including the number of reported monkeypox cases in an area and estimate of at-risk populations.
As of July 28, the state had expanded its testing capacity to process more than 1,000 tests a week. The state's public health laboratory leaders have been working with local public health, academic, and commercial laboratories to ensure testing capacity is increasingly available and coordinated with the public health response.
CDPH is also expanding treatment options. Access to the antiviral prescription drug tecovirimat, or TPOXX, used to treat monkeypox is limited, but the treatment can now be administered at more than 30 facilities and providers across the state.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, has found, “Monkeypox does not spread easily between people; however, anyone in close contact with a person with monkeypox can get it and should take steps to protect themselves.”
Further, the California Department of Public Health, or CDPH, notes, “While monkeypox can infect anyone, many of the recent cases in 2022 have occurred among persons self-identifying as men who have sex with men,” or MSM.
Limiting the spread of monkeypox demands a coordinated effort. Lake County Health Services staff is working with local health care providers and other California local health jurisdictions. This work includes preparing to investigate, conduct contact tracing and offer postexposure prevention for close contacts of those who test positive.
As the situation continues to develop, Lake County-focused resources will be accessible at http://health.lakecountyca.gov/Diseases/Monkeypox.htm.
Monkeypox: A fact sheet for Lake County Residents
Monkeypox is a viral infection which often begins within two to three weeks after exposure, with flu-like symptoms followed by a rash that goes through different stages and often resolves in two to four weeks without intervention.
Symptoms of monkeypox typically 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.
People with monkeypox are infectious, and should isolate until the rash resolves. People who have symptoms should call their health care provider or local hospital, who will determine the need for testing.
People who have symptoms of monkeypox or have had contact with a confirmed or suspected monkeypox case, should take the following steps:
• Visit a medical provider for an evaluation;
• Cover the area of the rash with clothing;
• Wear a properly fitting mask;
• Avoid skin-to-skin, or close contact with others.
There are steps people can take to protect themselves from monkeypox, including asking intimate and other sexual partners about symptoms, avoiding skin-to-skin or prolonged face-to-face contact with anyone who has symptoms, practicing safer sex (such as reducing the number of sexual partners), keeping hands clean and maintaining respiratory etiquette.
Monkeypox can spread through contact with body fluids, monkeypox sores, or shared items (such as clothing and bedding) that have been contaminated with fluids from sores of a person with monkeypox.
Monkeypox virus can also spread between people through saliva or respiratory droplets, typically between people in a close setting.
Although monkeypox is not generally considered a sexually transmitted infection, the current outbreak is being transmitted during sex through skin-to-skin and other intimate contact, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
Most people with monkeypox have a mild illness that improves over two to four weeks. Monkeypox is contagious and can spread to others until scabs have fallen off and a new layer of skin has formed.
Comparisons of this outbreak to HIV are disingenuous and stigmatize vulnerable populations as there are no similarities other than MSM. Monkeypox is similar to smallpox not HIV and is survivable.
Unlike the early days of the ongoing and tiring COVID-19 pandemic, safe and effective vaccines, antiviral drugs and tests for monkeypox have already been developed and proven safe. The equitable distribution of these resources is now underway.
TPOXX is an antiviral medication that is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of smallpox in adults and children. Clinical trials in people showed the drug was safe and had only minor side effects.
The CDC holds an expanded access (sometimes called “compassionate use”) protocol that allows for the use of stockpiled tecovirimat to treat monkeypox during an outbreak. Tecovirimat is available as a pill or an injection. For more information and the facts about TPOXX (Tecovirimat) please visit www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/clinicians/Tecovirimat.html.
If you are an immunocompromised individual or are pursuing monkeypox treatment or postexposure prevention options for someone who is, please contact your health care provider or local hospital to speak about accessibility of the Jynneos monkeypox vaccine. Please be aware that supplies of Jynneos are experiencing immense scarcity and this vaccine will be allocated on a case-by-case basis.
To learn more about monkeypox and the 2022 Monkeypox Outbreak, please visit the following websites:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Monkeypox Homepage:
www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/index.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) U.S. Outbreak 2022 Situation
www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/index.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Monkeypox Prevention:
www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/prevention.html
County of Lake Health Services Monkeypox Webpage:
http://health.lakecountyca.gov/Diseases/Monkeypox.htm