Weekend Monkeypox Vaccination Clinics Announced by White House
In anticipation of significant LGBTQ-focused events over the Labor Day weekend, the Biden-Harris administration has announced that it is working with localities to provide thousands of vaccine doses for onsite administration.
New Orleans is preparing to host Southern Decadence, one of the country’s largest gatherings of gay and bisexual men. Thousands of additional monkeypox vaccine doses have been sent to Louisiana in anticipation of this weekend’s event.Southern Decadence is expected to attract between 100,000 and 300,000 people.Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra explained the importance of onsite vaccination in a recent call with reporters.“It’s not enough to wait for people to show up at a doctor’s office or a county health department to schedule a vaccination appointment,” Becerra said. “We need to set up vaccination clinics where people are.
And when we do that, there are better health outcomes for all of us.”White House MPV coordinator Bob Fenton added, “Equity is a key pillar in our response, and we recognize the need to put extra resources into the field to make sure we are reaching communities most impacted by the outbreak.”Louisiana has been allocated 1,500 additional vaccine vials for the event by the federal government.
With this amount, Louisiana is expected to be able to provide 6,000 extra vaccine shots to the public, according to state officials.
