A gay man who recently had his monkeypox vaccine has urged others in the LGBT community to get theirs too. Rossi, from Cardiff, Wales, has been encouraging his Instagram followers to go to a walk-in clinic after seeing the symptoms his friends have developed.
Monkeypox is continuing to spread within the UK, as the latest figures for Scotland show 54 confirmed laboratory cases. While it can affect anyone who is exposed to the virus, Public Health Scotland (PHS) reports that most Scottish cases have occurred in men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with men.
Those within the LGBT community may be apprehensive to report symptoms, for fear of being stigmatised. But after seeing monkeypox symptoms first-hand, Rossi wants others to put their health first.
Speaking to Wales Online, he said: “Basically when I first heard about monkeypox I was like: 'Here we go, another thing that the media’s blowing up to scare us'. As time's gone on more and more of my friends are catching it.
"I was seeing how serious this virus is within the LGBT community. It started to panic me a little bit because obviously I've seen the symptoms and they're not nice at all. With summer coming up and the events I’ve got coming up I didn’t want to come into contact with it.
"I usually spend my summer in Mykonos. Covid has been very heavy on the island with the restrictions and with people turning up and catching Covid. A lot of the gay community go there in August and I couldn't imagine how many people would potentially go there and have issues with monkeypox."
Rossi went to a routine STI screening and asked if he could be given the vaccine. He was initially told that he would not be offered the vaccine as he was not on PrEP – a preventative medicine that can reduce your chance of HIV.
It is now believed that the vaccine is currently being offered to people in PrEP, in HIV care, or who have had one of a number of specific health conditions in the past two years. But Rossi was able to get the vaccine and was told that the take-up rate was low enough that there were doses going spare and that the staff at the Cardiff Royal Infirmary were excellent.
He said: "It was all absolutely fine – so easy. The needle's smaller than the Covid one and I was in and out within 15 minutes."
After getting the vaccine Rossi took to Instagram to encourage others to do the same and became passionate after seeing what his friends have gone through after catching the viral disease. He said: "Watching them go through the flu symptoms – aching, sweating, not being able to leave bed... one had a really sore throat and couldn't swallow anything.
"Once those leave you the pox start to come. These pox are big, they’re not tiny. They fill with pus and mucus and they’re not nice to look at, to deal with.
"It’s a nightmare and you have to wash your sheets constantly and make sure you’re not touching anything. It’s so much easier to get down to a clinic."
He also said he understands that some gay men might be worried about echoes of the HIV/aids epidemic in which many were stigmatised and made to feel that the disease was their fault. Rossi said: "This is something that I got my back up about because the campaigns did target the LGBT community and gay men specifically.
"Obviously from the statistics that is definitely happening and from what I know and my own personal experience that is the case. It's something really sensitive – I was speaking to a friend who lived through aids and saw my story and said: 'Thank you so much, it was people like you in that time who showed awareness.'
"It's something we should just acknowledge. It's within the community, let's do something about it.
"We don't want people pointing fingers and calling us super-spreaders. Be seen to be taking action, trying to take it into our own hands and stop this."
He admits that some people might be scared to get the vaccine because they think they'll be judged. "I've had a few messages on Instagram when I mentioned that I wasn't on PrEP – people assume that you get that vaccination or get on PrEP because you have a lot of sex. That's not how we should be viewing it – with the vaccine if you have any interaction with somebody you're protected and that other person's protected."
The NHS advice on monkeypox says it can be passed on through close physical contact including sexual contact, kissing, cuddling, or holding hands, as well as touching clothing, bedding, or towels used by somebody with monkeypox and through the sneezes and coughs of a person with monkeypox.
Rossi said he didn't think people were necessarily hesitant and believed a lot were really eager to get their vaccine. But he said: "I think people aren't thinking it's a serious thing – I didn't even think anyone I knew would get it.
"But it's super-easy to get it done to keep everyone safe. With all the parties happening over the summer it's a simple vaccine that could help you and others."
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