Referring to the population most affected by the outbreak so far, Health Commissioner Susan Phillips said Thursday that officials wanted to “reaffirm our commitment to the health of our LGBTQ communities in San Francisco, as we have historically always done as a city.”
But among LGBTQ residents, hours-long wait lines for the vaccine and a lack of education about best practices to avoid transmission are common complaints, as is the lack of the vaccine itself. The lack of centralized information about vaccination appointments is also a concern.
“Information is being spread in so many different ways and it’s not getting to the people who really need it as quickly,” said drag performer and LGBTQ activist Juanita More.
Monkeypox in the Bay Area
A well-known organizer in the city’s queer scene, More was able to make an appointment for a first dose of vaccine through her doctor. However, she said she is concerned that due to a lack of information, others in the nightlife community, as well as sex workers “who are in contact with people all the time”, are not being prioritized.
Anyone can get monkeypox, but during the current outbreak it has been largely spread through male-to-male sex.
The Health Officer of SF, Dr. Susan Phillips (left), City Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax and Mayor London Breed deal with the monkeypox outbreak.
Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle
Outside Strut, the Castro-area wellness center run by the AIDS Foundation of San Francisco, Tom Lapin, 68, said he hoped to get the shot Thursday afternoon — after his doctor encouraged him to because he has cancer – but they said the waiting list was over 1,000 people.
“I feel worried,” Lapin said, adding that the lack of clear information about the virus and the disorganized response are making him and his husband think twice about things like sharing washing machines with their neighbors. He said many residents like him hear the aftermath of the AIDS crisis and wonder if the current mindset is, “It’s just affecting gay people and we don’t care, so we don’t send vaccines?”
In a report Wednesday, San Francisco officials said 261 people had confirmed or suspected monkeypox infections, with more than 30 percent of the cases affecting Latinos across the city. Health officials also said they expect cases to continue to rise in the coming weeks.
Honey Mahogany, chairwoman of the San Francisco Democratic Party and candidate for District Six supervisor, was blunt in her assessment of the official response:
“I feel that our government in general has really failed us in this response to this outbreak,” he said, before declaring the state of emergency.
Honey Mahogany poses for a portrait in San Francisco County, California, Thursday, July 28, 2022. San Francisco has declared a state of emergency due to monkeypox. Ethan Swope/The Chronicle
“We should have learned our lessons from the HIV and AIDS crisis: that just because it affects one community doesn’t mean it can’t spread quickly to everyone else,” Mahogany said.
“Also, I don’t think we’ve learned our lesson from COVID-19,” he said. “Having just gone through this, many of these systems have yet to be fully dismantled. Why couldn’t we use these systems to lead humans to (the) monkeypox vaccine?”
After San Francisco’s announcement, he said it should be followed by action at the federal level: “The time has come! We need a local as well as a national emergency to call so we can effectively stamp this out in the first place. We know how to do that and we have the tools at our disposal.”
Tyler TerMeer, executive director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, said Thursday that while he applauded the decision to declare monkeypox a public health emergency, the foundation — and San Francisco’s queer community — slammed the alarm bells for the rapid spread of monkey pox since May. , and access to vaccines is still severely lacking.
More than 7,300 people are waiting for a vaccine at the institution’s sexual health clinics in San Francisco, he said, adding that there is no end to that demand.
The emergency declaration “could have happened sooner, but at the end of the day I think this is the right time,” TerMeer said. “Anything beyond that would be too late.”
Juba Kalamka, director of community health care services at St. James Infirmary, a nonprofit healthcare organization in San Francisco that focuses on Bay Area sex workers, said it “appreciates the urgency” of the statement.
“The state of emergency gives us an opportunity as people working with more marginalized communities to have a very specific and grounded conversation about monkeypox,” he said. “So I think it’s good.”
Jupiter Peraza, director of social justice initiatives for the Transgender Region, also saw the statement as a positive development: “We are certainly very happy to hear that the city of San Francisco has officially declared a state of emergency for monkey pox,” he said. “We believe this was a step the city needed to take primarily because of the large and prominent LGBT population the city has.”
Strut, a health center in the Kastro region, has provided resources during the monkeypox outbreak.
Ethan Swope/The Chronicle
The city’s announcement came just days before Sunday’s “Up Your Alley” leather and fetish event, also known as Dore Alley because of its location in the South of Market neighborhood. On Monday, the Tubesteak Connection party scheduled for Thursday evening announced its postponement due to concerns about the lack of vaccine availability.
Organizers of Saturday’s Sneaks party at Club Six advised guests on their e-vite page: “Look after yourself, think about what level of risk you’re comfortable with, watch for symptoms and if you do suspect exposure or contamination, take care not to spread to others”. While they’re not canceling the event, they also noted “We’re accepting refunds — please stay home if you’re unwell and we’ll see you next time.”
Bob Goldfarb, executive director of the South of Market Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District, said the organization is using its social media accounts to post information about the virus ahead of this weekend’s Dore Alley events.
“I think there’s a lot of confusion about the methods of transmission and the actual impact of an infection itself,” Goldfarb said. “The Department of Health recommends that if you go into a crowd you should be fully clothed and covered to avoid skin-to-skin contact, which is apparently the main method of transmission of the disease.”
While Goldfarb noted that there will be gatherings and dance parties this weekend “where it’s unusual to be fully clothed,” he has spoken to people who are very cautious.
“Some people avoid events and some people… just dive in as carefree as ever. (But we’re) very happy to see people taking precautions to minimize that skin-to-skin contact and the risk of transmission.”
Todd Janzen, 60, says he plans to go to the Dore Alley Fair on Sunday, but added the risk calculation was different as a married man no longer “in the meat market”.
Ethan Swope/The Chronicle
Diamond Heights resident Todd Janzen, 60, said he still planned to go to the main street fair for “Up Your Alley” on Sunday, but added that the risk calculation was different since a married man was no longer “in the market meat”.
But the chaos surrounding the outbreak brought back memories of the AIDS crisis, which he lived through as a San Francisco resident in the 1980s, he said.
“I lost a lot of very close friends,” Janzen said. “For me it was a much scarier moment. We did not know. We had no idea. People were dropping like flies.”
The fact that monkeypox is rarely fatal has come as a relief to many other queer San Franciscans who vividly remember the AIDS crisis and the city’s response.
Lower Haight resident Jack Davis, 71, said he and his friends are wondering if this will be the third pandemic they’ll live through — while still dealing with PTSD from the last two.
“This isn’t our first rodeo,” Davis said, adding that he now asks his friends if he can hug them, worried about how the virus is spreading. “Everyone I talk to knows about it and is concerned about it. Some people change their sexual behavior and some people don’t.”
In response to the emergency declaration, podcast host and adult film performer Kristofer Weston said he was pleased the rise in cases was now being dealt with.
“I notice a lot of gay men are quickly trying to find where they can get the shot or at least get the first dose,” Weston said. “I’m also noticing some dropping out of events this weekend out of caution.”
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