The monkeypox outbreak in Ohio continues to grow — particularly in Cuyahoga County, which is home to nearly 50% of cases statewide. To fight the virus, the Cleveland Department of Public Health announced Thursday it is expanding the number of monkeypox vaccine clinics it offers to the public.
The department will continue to host vaccine clinics on Fridays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Mean Bull nightclub on the city's East Side and will also begin to offer the vaccine on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the J. Glen Smith and McCafferty Health Centers, according to a health department media release.
The vaccines are free and no pre-registration is required. Flu shots will also be available.
Upcoming vaccine clinics:
- Oct. 21 and 28 - Mean Bull nightclub, 1313 E. 26th St. Cleveland, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- Oct. 26 - Glen Smith Health Center, 11100 St. Clair Ave. Cleveland, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Oct. 26 - McCafferty Health Center, 4242 Lorain Ave. Cleveland, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
According to the health department, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently expanded the eligibility criteria to get the vaccine.
It now includes gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, transgender or gender‐diverse people who have had more than one sex partner in the last six months, had sex in a place associated with higher monkeypox risk or have had a sexually transmitted infection diagnosed over that same time period, according to the media release.
Those who are the sexual partners of people with those risk factors and commercial sex workers are also now eligible.
Monkeypox is a virus spread by skin-to-skin contact with an infected person or contact with contaminated clothes or linens, the release said. Anyone can get and spread monkeypox, but current cases are disproportionately affecting gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. Those with multiple or anonymous sex partners are also particularly at risk.
