By The Star Staff
Over 2,800 JYNNEOS vaccines have been received on the island, and of those, 1,056 had been distributed as of Sunday, when 292 people were inoculated against monkeypox.
Health Secretary Carlos Mellado López said 500 vaccines were available to anyone considered to have been in contact with people with confirmed or suspected monkeypox, as identified by the Surveillance and Tracking System of the Office of Epidemiology.
Over 2,800 JYNNEOS vaccines have been received on the island, and of those, 1,056 had been distributed as of early Sunday, while only 247 people had been inoculated.
José Joaquín Mulinelli, CEO of Coaí Inc., said that although monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection, it has affected the LGBTQ+ community disproportionately.
“In the same way that we get vaccinated against COVID, it is imperative that LGBTQ+ people prioritize this monkeypox vaccination process,” he said.
Michael Pagán Castañer, executive director of the True Self Foundation, added that in the face of the public health emergency posed by the monkeypox virus, “it is time for solidarity and action. Not stigma.”