New Mpox cases reported in Wake County. Should you get vaccinated?
Wake County health officials are urging more people at risk for Mpox to get vaccinated after three people tested positive for the virus in the past six weeks.
The virus, formerly known as monkeypox, is in the smallpox family and involves flu-like symptoms, swelling of the lymph nodes, and a bumpy, fluid-filled rash before scabbing.
“This is important because it’s preventable,” said Kevin Harrell, the Wake County preventative health director. “We want people to actually get vaccinated, and if they notice any unusual scabs, lesions, blisters or anything like that, they can also be tested.”
Awareness of the virus spread in 2022 after an outbreak of more than 31,000 cases in the United States. Since then, 721 cases have been reported in North Carolina, 119 of them in Wake County.
Of the number in Wake County, 96% of cases were male, 91% were between the ages of 18 and 49, 67% of those infected were Black or African American and 53% were people living with HIV, Harrell said.
The World Health Organization changed the virus’ name to Mpox, saying the original name was “racist and stigmatizing language.” Additionally, rodents, not monkeys, are the main source of the virus, according to WHO.
Local LGBTQ+ groups have spoken out about the stigma surrounding the illness. Mpox disproportionately affects men who have sex with men, but it can affect anyone who comes into contact with an infected person and not just through sexual intercourse.
“(Mpox) affects anyone. It’s definitely not that people in the LGBT community are more prone to the virus,” Harrell said. “We’re seeing it in that community right now, but it’s not that they are more prone to getting it.”
What to know about the vaccine
JYNNEOS is a two-dose injection four weeks apart that helps prevent Mpox when given before or shortly after exposure. JYNNEOS is safe to use if you have HIV, eczema, skin conditions, or a weakened immune system.
The state recommends people to “seek, scan and search” their bodies and their partners’ bodies for blisters or items of concern.
“Seek the facts. Understand that anyone can get Mpox and understand how Mpox is and isn’t spread,” Harrell said. “Obviously sexual contact, coming in contact skin to skin with someone who has rashes or lesions that are infected, and then just general skin-to-skin contact are those higher-risk activities,” Harrell said..
Where to get vaccinated
Wake County offers the JYNNEOS vaccine at the Public Health Center (10 Sunnybrook Road in Raleigh) in Clinic E for walk-in services and by appointment.
▪ Walk-in services
No appointment is needed for the vaccine. The center is open from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
▪ Appointment-only services
Call 919-250-3900 to make an appointment. The clinic is open Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Symptoms of Mpox
How long symptoms last or how severe they are all depends on a person’s health or how soon they identify any new rashes. They include:
Fever
Headache
Swollen lymph nodes
Chills
Exhaustion
Rash that resembled pimples or blisters on the face, inside the mouth, hands, feet, chest, genitals or anus
Groups most at risk for exposure
Anyone who has had close contact in the past two weeks with someone who has been diagnosed with Mpox
Gay, bisexual, transgender, or other men who have sex with men or are sexually active
People who have had sexual contact with gay, bisexual, transgender, or men who have had sex with men in the past 90 days
People living with HIV or taking PrEP or who were diagnosed with syphilis in the past 90 days
Anyone who, in the past six months, has had sex at a commercial sex venue or sex in association with a large public event
Anyone who sexual partners of people with the listed risks
