SACRAMENTO—On Monday, August 1, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency regarding Monkey Pox in the Sacramento area to reduce risks and standing with the LGBTQ community.
“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. 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,” said Governor Newsom.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) distributed 25,000 doses of the new Monkeypox vaccine to those with, “confirmed or probable exposures.”
Monkeypox is similar to Small Pox and originates from monkeys in West Africa. Research indicates anyone exposed to Monkeypox is at risk of infection.
The CDPH indicates that Monkeypox is not treated as a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) or Sexually Transmitted Infection, but can be spread by skin-to-skin contact with an infected individual, sharing sheets or bare skin touching flat surfaces with someone with open sores.
The CDPH website depicts probable cases of Monkeypox in the state indicating a total of 1,135 cases.
“The current monkeypox situation is rapidly evolving and the information below will be updated as new information emerges. CDPH is closely monitoring monkeypox transmission in the U.S. and California to ensure rapid identification of cases. The risk of monkeypox to the public is currently very low based on the information available. 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 (MSM).”
