After health experts called on the province to act proactively and offer preventive doses of the vaccine it has had since June instead of waiting for the virus to emerge here, the Progressive Conservative government issued a press release Friday saying it would expand eligibility criteria and will offer it at three Winnipeg locations. “It shouldn’t have taken this long,” said NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara, noting the government didn’t act until it was pushed. A health care worker prepares a monkeypox vaccine in Montreal on July 23. Manitobans most at risk of contracting monkeypox will be able to make immunization appointments online starting Monday. (The Canadian Press) “I feel very strongly that the government releasing any information is a direct result of pressure being put on them by the public and public health expertise,” Asagwara said. The health critic called Friday’s press release “the bare minimum” and questioned why high-profile health leaders such as Health Secretary Audrey Gordon or public health chief Dr. Brent Roussin did not present the news and did not answer questions. On Friday, Gordon declined to answer questions about the rollout — how many vaccine doses Manitoba has and why preventive vaccines weren’t made available sooner. At an unrelated event, he said he would not comment until a press release was issued later in the day. The release said Manitoba has worked with the federal government to secure additional doses of the Imvamune vaccine, but did not say that’s why it will offer it as a preventative measure rather than just to people who have been exposed to infections. The province said those eligible for the vaccine are at greater risk of infection – gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men who also meet at least one other condition: • You have been diagnosed with chlamydia, gonorrhea and/or syphilis in the last two months. • You have had two or more sexual partners in the past 21 days. • Have visited locations for sexual intercourse (such as bathhouses or sex clubs) or plan to do so. • You have had anonymous sex in the last 21 days or plan to do so. • Engage in or intend to engage in sex work, either as an employee or as a client. From Monday, appointments can be booked online or over the phone for people who meet the eligibility criteria. The shots will be offered at Klinic Community Health (167 Sherbrook St.), Access Winnipeg West (280 Booth Dr.) and Our Own Health Center (230 Osborne St.). Anyone can become infected with monkeypox, which the World Health Organization has declared a global health threat, but so far infections have mostly been reported among men who have sex with men, Friday’s press release said. So far, there are no confirmed cases in the province. The province failed to take advantage of that “window of opportunity” before cases were reported in Manitoba to release the vaccine and inform the public, Asagwara said. “After the pandemic and everything we’ve learned as a result of COVID, it’s inexcusable that the government continues to be insufficiently reactive and deliberately jumps over important opportunities to be proactive,” said Asagwara, a nurse. »Winnipeg Free Press Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont asked why it took so long to make the vaccine available to high-risk residents. “The number of cases is doubling every two weeks, it’s highly contagious … and there’s a vaccine that can prevent it,” said Lamont, who wrote an open letter to the health secretary a week ago calling on the government to do more to prepare for the arrival of the virus. “Why wait?” Several provinces have reported cases, including neighboring Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan. “We live in a city with a Level 4 (National Microbiology Laboratory) and a university with some of the best public health and infectious disease experts in the world, and they’ve been ignored,” Lamont said. »Winnipeg Free Press
