CUDAHY, Wis. — The Cudahy Health Department will be opening a monkeypox vaccination clinic, the department announced Monday.
The health department said the clinic will be open with limited hours on weekdays starting on Wednesday.
Vaccinations will be appointment only. Walk-ins will not be accepted.
According to thehealth department, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) recommends the monkeypox vaccination for people who had known exposure to someone with the virus and people with certain risk factors. According to DHS, this includes:
- People who know that a sexual partner in the past 14 days was diagnosed with monkeypox
- People who attended an event/venue where there was known monkeypox exposure
- Gay, bisexual, trans, and any other men who have sex with men, who had multiple sexual partners in the last 14 days
The clinic is currently offering the JYNNEOS vaccine to those who are eligible and are 18 years old and older and live and work in Wisconsin.
There have been 18 cases confirmed in Wisconsin as of July 28, health officials say. There are 5,189 cases confirmed nationally as of Saturday.
For more information and to make an appointment, click here. You can also call 414-796-2239 to make an appointment.
What to know about monkeypox
According to health officials, people become infected with monkeypox by having direct contact with:
- With skin lesions, scabs, or body fluids of an infected person
- Through prolonged face-to-face exposure to respiratory secretions or during intimate physical contact
- Through touching items such as clothing that previously touched the infectious rash.
Health officials also say, "touching objects, fabrics, and surfaces that have been used by someone with monkeypox or close contact with respiratory secretions can transmit the disease. This contact can happen during intimate contact including oral, anal, and vaginal sex or touching the genitals or anus of a person with monkeypox."
Below are recommendations to prevent the spread of monkeypox, according to the Milwaukee Health Department:
- Avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with the monkeypox rash, including refraining from touching the rash or scabs of person with monkeypox and avoiding kissing, hugging, cuddling or having sex with someone with monkeypox.
- If exposed to monkeypox, contact your healthcare provider as soon as possible and let them know you have symptoms or have been exposed to monkeypox. Healthcare providers can provide testing and care for people who are diagnosed with monkeypox.
- Monitor for fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes and a new, unexplained rash, and contact a health care provider if any of those occur. If you do not have a healthcare provider, contact your local health department for guidance.
- If sick with monkeypox, isolate at home until rash has fully resolved, the scabs have fallen off, and a fresh layer of intact skin has formed.
For further information, click here.
