St. Louis-area doctors say they’re seeing an increase in interest from patients wanting to get vaccinated for mpox, a virus related to smallpox.
Although cases of the disease are not increasing in the region, health officials still recommend at-risk patients get the vaccination for the virus.
Interest in the vaccine has gone up since the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency as the disease surges in some African countries, said Juliana Castellanos, HIV prevention director at Affinia Healthcare.
“Well, I think everyone heard the news, because this week, we got many calls and many emails about patients trying to get them to vaccine,” she said. “I think it’s good that that people learned from the [coronavirus] pandemic.”
The virus isn’t significantly spreading in the U.S., she said. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 13 cases in Missouri since the start of the year and 77 in Illinois.
Still, Castellanos said that vaccines can prevent a future mpox outbreak, such as the epidemic that infected thousands of people in the United States in 2022.
Affinia is offering the vaccine at its midtown St. Louis clinic. It’s also available through other local clinics and the St. Louis County Department of Public Health.
The disease causes a telltale rash and flu-like symptoms and is spread through close contact. In the United States, the virus has spread mostly among gay and bisexual men, but anyone can contract the disease.
Health officials recommend those most at risk consider the two-dose vaccine. That includes gay, bisexual and transgender people or others who have sex with those who have sex with men.
Other at-risk groups include those who engage in group or commercial sex. People who have been diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases also are at higher risk.
“By optimizing resources — offering the vaccine for those that were disproportionately affected — that way it's easier to control an outbreak or a cluster in case they come up,” Castellano said.
