A vaccine clinic for monkeypox in Richmond is now open for appointments, as Vancouver Coastal Health expands its vaccination campaign.
Richmondites can now get vaccinated at the Gilwest Clinic in Richmond Hospital, by Westminster Highway and Gilbert Road.
Appointments can be made online, with no requirements for ID or MSP.
A limited number of appointments are available for eligible individuals, and the vaccine is currently not available to the general public unless identified as a close contact by public health.
According to VCH, those 18 and older who are “transgender people or who self-identify as belonging to the gay, bisexual and other men-who-have-sex-with-men community” might be eligible if they are at least one of the following:
- Have had 2 or more sexual partners within the past 21 days;
- Have received a diagnosis of bacterial STI (i.e., chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis) in the past 2 months;
- Have attended venues or other locations for sexual contact within the past 21 days (e.g., bath houses, sex clubs, park play) or may be planning to;
- Have had anonymous/casual sex in the past 21 days (e.g., using apps, online sites, formal/informal gatherings) or may be planning to;
- Engage in sex work or may be planning to, either as a worker or a client.
As of Thursday, there are 61 confirmed cases in B.C. with 54 in Vancouver Coastal, three in Fraser Health, and four on Vancouver Island.
As of Monday, about half of the 14,480 doses of vaccine the province has received had been administered to high-risk people, said the Ministry of Health.
The monkeypox outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization on July 21, 2022.
“While most, but not all, recent global infections are among men who identify as gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with other men, the virus can affect anyone through close person-to-person contact,” reads the BC Centre for Disease Control’s website.
Appointments for the next couple of days are full, but new slots have just been added for Friday, Aug. 5.
Those interested are encouraged to continue to check back with the booking page, as more appointments will be added for next week, according to VCH.
