ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County has the majority of the monkeypox cases in Central Florida with 84, and appointments for the vaccine are going fast, state health officials say.
The Florida Department of Health in Orange County is opening its monkeypox vaccine appointment system now Monday through Friday starting at 8:30 a.m. each day for people at risk to make a future appointment.
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“Right now the high-risk people that we’re seeing with these cases, the majority in Orange County have been men who are having sex with men,” said Kent Donahue with the Florida Department of Health in Orange County.
Donahue said they have nurses who can perform nearly 100 vaccinations per day. The vaccine is free.
To make an appointment, go to the county health department website.
To get an appointment, you must have been exposed, be a particular health care or lab worker, or identify as a gay or bisexual man.
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“It’s a viral infection and anybody can get it through close prolonged skin-to-skin contact,” said Donahue.
Since the outbreak, public health experts have said the virus is largely transmitted through close skin-to-skin contact.
Michael Jungen said he’s seeing firsthand the demand for the monkeypox vaccine, particularly in Orange County. He said as a gay man, he could be more at risk and just wants to be safe.
Jungen said within the first 10 minutes of trying to get an appointment Thursday morning, the agency was booked through Tuesday.
“It’s frustrating that the vaccines are there, the United States have the vaccines, but you can’t get it,” said Jungen. “At 8:30 on Monday and Tuesday of next week, there were slots available. So, I picked one on Monday, and by the time I got to fill the form and clicked book, it says somebody else got that. And, I did the same thing for Tuesday and somebody else got that time.”
The federal government says it is setting aside 50,000 extra doses of the vaccine for cities with upcoming gay pride events.