Las Vegas groups glad for expanded Monkeypox vaccine eligibility, claim its overdue – Fox 5 Las Vegas

September 19, 2022 Kim Martel

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Southern Nevada Health District has expanded its eligibility criteria for Monkeypox vaccines, and locals who fall under those new groups believe it’s long overdue.

According to the CDC, due to limited dose numbers, criteria is limited based on local vaccine availability and case trends. Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and now the Clark County have expanded eligibility to sex workers of all genders. According to SNHD, people who identify as gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary or gender non-conforming who have HIV are also now urged to get the vaccine.

Other eligible persons include adults and minors who are exposed to a Monkeypox case, or those with multiple sexual partners of unknown status.

Though Monkeypox can be transmitted through sex, it is not a sexually-transmitted disease; health officials and doctors warn that infected persons can spread the virus through skin-to-skin contact in crowds, and even household spread through respiratory droplets and contact with an infected person’s linens and laundry.

“[Those with HIV] may have a more compromised immune system that may put them at a higher risk, if they come into contact with it. But ultimately, anyone can really get it. We really don’t want people to think that this is only those who identify in the Queer space, it’s really anyone who can come in contact, and have that skin to skin contact or intimate contact,” said Dr. Christina Madison, founder of the Public Health Pharmacist and associate professor of Roseman University of Health Sciences.

Those who are concerned about their risk should ultimately ask their doctor, based on their contact with strangers or numerous people, and not be afraid of judgment or stigma to seek testing or a vaccine.

“I think anyone who is engaging in sex with partners that may have an unknown status needs to know that their health is their biggest concern. So your sexual health and wellness is directly linked to your overall health and wellness. They definitely shouldn’t be concerned about seeking medical attention. It really is about making sure that you’re able to be healthy and well,” Dr. Madison said.

Many sex workers across the Las Vegas Valley and the country have been concerned about exposure. According to SNHD, case data among infected persons helped drive expanded vaccine availability.

“They’re acknowledging that we exist. We’re already meant to stay on top of our sexual health and seeing how Monkeypox is easily spread through sex, even though it is not an STD—it’s just one more thing that we have to look out for,” said Brian Bonds, an adult film actor. FOX5 spoke to Bonds about his Monkeypox infection traced to a party in San Diego. Bonds is also an HIV/AIDS health advocate, living with HIV in remission.

Many coworkers and other actors have already sought the vaccine for their protection, in addition to other required regular testing.

“We’re glad that they recognize that our work requires us to be on top of something like that. All of our work is intimacy. Intimacy is our work,” he said.

Other advocates have been working to help sex workers who lack resources to obtain access for a vaccine.

FOX5 reached out to non-profit Las Vegas Red Umbrella Collective, which provides supplies and resources to sex workers across all industries and advocates for sex worker rights. Advocates worry about the spread of the virus among those who are vulnerable, with the later vaccine eligibility, and released the below statement:

“The Las Vegas Red Umbrella Collective (LVRUC) is in full support of all sex workers being now eligible for the monkeypox vaccine. As sex workers, we are accustomed to being on the forefront of sexual and physical health. This is most well known in the adult film industry with its rigorous testing regimes, but it is necessary for all of us to be able to work, or even survive, in an industry with so much physical contact which is how monkeypox primarily spreads.

We have concerns about how late it is for sex workers to be slated for vaccination, but also with the level of outreach to the most vulnerable sex workers and the physical location of the clinic well away from where the most exposed sex workers – who are less likely to have personal transportation – work and live. Houseless sex workers are the least likely to have: physical access to clinics, information about vaccines and vaccine availability, the technology necessary to book an appointment, and treatments necessary if infected. Although information circulates quite fast in houseless communities, without a dramatic escalation in outreach from the Health District, the clinics will end up serving mostly the members of our community who face the least risks. As a community organization we make efforts where we can at outreach, but do not have even a fraction of the resources that the Health District has. SNHD, who has responsibility in this, is underfunded and understaffed. Unfortunately, much of the outreach and support we can offer to our colleagues to keep each other safe and healthy is criminalized by the city and county under various “promoting prostitution” laws that restrict our ability to pass out narcan or even condoms.

While much of our industry is criminalized, sex work is a major part of Las Vegas’ tourism and convention commerce. We should not only have a higher priority in obtaining the monkeypox vaccine, but should not face criminalization for either our jobs, nor our efforts to keep each other healthy and safe in a public health crisis.”