Nathan Jeffay is the health and science correspondent for The Times of Israel
After calling on itself as a “vaccination nation” for its competitive crusade to combat the coronavirus, Israel has embarked on an intense crusade to help citizens face the ultimate threat of monkeypox.
Just over 2,000 more people have won monkeypox vaccines since their launch in early August, which fitness professionals say reflects a greater achievement than the number suggests.
In fact, unlike the attempt to vaccinate everyone against COVID, the focus of monkeypox is to immunize only those at significant risk. Therefore, every time someone receives a vaccine, it is a known preventive health success.
“The vaccination crusade is proving to be successful, and the resolution to use the limited source of vaccines for those most at risk is a very clever resolution,” Dr. Lisa S. Gal Wagner, president of the LGBT Medical Association of Israel.
High-tech fitness systems have been essential, he said, adding that the fight against the epidemic has been further strengthened by minimizing the dangers in the LGBT network and the relationships between this network and the government, especially the Minister of Health, who is a gay man.
Israel reported its first case of monkeypox in May, a type that had returned from abroad, and to date has recorded 203 cases. The virus is contagious and, although benign, can cause serious illness.
Some 5,000 vaccines have arrived so far, and Israel is expected to get 5,000 more in the coming weeks. Since cases are maxed out exclusively in men who have sex with men (MSM), vaccines target those in this demographic organization who are at maximum risk.
It is given to men who have had two sexually transmitted diseases since early 2021, or who are HIV-positive, or who are taking pre-exposure prophylaxis, which are HIV medications for them.
Israel’s exceptionally high-tech national medical record keeping has been key to its COVID crusade and has fueled the crusade against monkeypox, said Wagner, who runs a Pride clinic through healthcare provider Clalit in Tel Aviv.
Specifically, he was tasked with identifying and achieving the maximum of Israeli threats from a needle challenge in a haystack to pressing a few buttons.
“This record-keeping set helped fix the situation,” Wagner said. “Computers tell us precisely who is receiving pre-exposure prophylaxis, who has had two STDs, etc. All you have to do is press the button and automatically approve those other people to get invitations for vaccines.
“We’re fine. The numbers are increasing, but not much, and this is due to several points beyond vaccination. In the LGBT community, other people are aware of the dangers and reduce them, for example, through condoms and reducing the number of partners. “I hear that from my patients and I hear it from other people who don’t go to parties anymore. Some sex nights and saunas have closed temporarily,” he said.
“The fact that Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz is gay helped. And perhaps the main explanation for why smart fortune is the intelligent communication we have between the Ministry of Health, LGBT organizations, and fitness organizations. All government advertising was discussed with doctors and LGBT organizations, and from the beginning, communication was smart, which made a big difference.
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