As of Tuesday, there were 61 cases of monkeypox in Cuyahoga County, the majority affecting gay or bisexual men who live in the city of Cleveland, health officials said Wednesday during a press conference.
"The ages for these cases range from 19 to 50," said Cuyahoga County Board of Health Commissioner Dr. Roderick Harris. "We're not seeing any pediatric cases at this point, and we're not seeing any among older adults."
The majority of the cases in the county were among gay or bisexual men or those who sleep with other men, Harris said. But monkeypox does not exclusively infect LGBTQ men, he said, adding that the virus is not a sexually transmitted disease and can be spread by any close contact, especially skin-to-skin contact.
Dr. David Margolius, the city of Cleveland's Department of Public Health Director, said they have taken a "thoughtful" approach to combating the virus that has hit some of the city's most vulnerable.
"Most of the folks are Black. Many have HIV, and many have been systematically oppressed and are vulnerable in general," Margolius said. "Sometimes promoting equity takes a little longer."
Rather than immediately putting up a website and taking registrations, public health officials first reached out to health systems like MetroHealth, the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, officials said. They also worked with community partners such as the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland and Central Outreach, a clinic that specializes in health care for the LGBT people, to help distribute the 1,200 monkeypox vaccines that arrived on Aug. 3.
On Sunday, Cleveland officials distributed vaccine doses at a popular gay bar and the city vaccinated about 75 people at a vaccine clinic on Tuesday, Margolius added. On Friday, the city health department will host a second vaccine clinic.
For its part, the Cuyahoga County Board of Health distributed about 200 vaccines Tuesday and announced Monday it was accepting registrations for additional upcoming vaccine clinics at its Parma location.
MetroHealth will host a vaccine clinic on Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on their main campus, according to a hospital media release. The clinic is for people who are at high risk of infection or who have been exposed to the virus or who will have, or are likely to have, prolonged intimate contact that puts them at high risk of exposure. An appointment is required. Call 440-592-6843 and select option 3.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, officials can provide up to five vaccines from each vial, said Harris.
