Combatting homophobia in monkeypox vaccine messaging

Some in Alberta’s 2SLGBTQ+ community breathed a sigh of relief Thursday as the province announced the rollout of preventative monkeypox vaccines to those with an elevated risk of catching the virus.

“The community has been anxiously awaiting this,” said Nolan Hill, gay men’s health specialist at Calgary’s Centre for Sexuality.

Hill has been fielding numerous calls leading up to Thursday’s announcement of those looking for protection.

Although anyone can catch monkeypox, the current outbreak sweeping across North America is disproportionately impacting those who self-identify as belonging to the gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) community.

Alberta is lagging behind provinces like Ontario, B.C. and Quebec in offering vaccination to those in the gbMSM community, and Hill says he’s heard of some folks flying out of province to try and get a dose. He was able to book his own vaccine Thursday morning, noting the Health Link agent seemed to be caught off guard by the influx of calls.

“Alberta is a bit of a straggler” when it comes to vaccine rollout according to University of Calgary health law professor Lorian Hardcastle, pointing to the delay in giving out the Health Canada approved pediatric COVID-19 vaccine for children under five.

“I think that it’s important that regardless of how the current leaderships base feels about vaccines, that they keep pace with the science, keep pace with other provinces, and prioritize getting vaccines out to the public,” Hardcastle said.

Hardcastle adds the challenge in public health messaging is both to get the vaccine to those with the highest risk of catching the virus, while avoiding stigmatization of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

“Really the issue right now needs to be education for the public,” Hardcastle said, adding anyone could catch the virus one day and “we don’t want to lull people who don’t fall into that higher risk group into a false sense of complacency.”

According to the World Health Organization, the virus is transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets, and contaminated materials such as bedding.

“It’s not a gay disease,” Kristopher Wells, professor at MacEwan University and the Canada Research Chair for the Public Understanding of Sexual and Gender Minority Youth said.

Wells is concerned about misinformation already circulating about monkeypox and how it spreads, particularly those comparing it to a sexually transmitted infection (STI).

“It’s not an STI, and I think there’s a lot of confusion around that and that is where some of the government messaging has fallen down.”

READ MORE:

• Alberta stagnates on vaccine plan for children under 5 years old

• Alberta expands eligibility for monkeypox vaccine

• The monkeypox outbreak and an era of emerging viruses

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Alberta currently has 13 confirmed cases of monkeypox. Testing is being performed at STI clinics in Edmonton and Calgary, although a spokesperson for Alberta Health says monkeypox tests can also be offered at doctors offices.

Wells adds we don’t need to look far to see the impact of stigmatizing a disease, or labeling it as something that only impacts the 2SLGBTQ+ community. The impacts of early misinformation and stigma with the HIV/AIDS crisis still lives on to this day.

“If we don’t combat this misinformation, it begins to turn into prejudice, further discrimination, and unfortunately instances of violence.”

Wells hopes Alberta Health works with the 2SLGBTQ+ community to spread good, scientific information, and help reduce barriers in vaccine access.