The city of Cleveland will host its second monkeypox vaccination clinic tomorrow, the same day MetroHealth will also be administering doses, as shots from an allocation of 1,200 vials received by the county from the Ohio Department of Health in August continue to hit the arms of Northeast Ohioans.
“Based on the limited supply received, we are committed to vaccinating as many people as possible to prevent disease,” the city said in a statement. “As more vaccine is allocated to Cleveland, we will be setting up more clinics to make it available to a larger group of at‐risk persons.”
In a Wednesday public health briefing, city and county officials noted that there are currently 61 confirmed cases in Cuyahoga County (almost half of the confirmed 139 cases across the state), with the majority of those in the city of Cleveland, with the majority of all local cases in gay or bisexual men, many of them Black.
The city hosted a clinic earlier this week, and the county hosted one in Parma, where it will again soon. Doses also have and will be administered at enterainment venues and through social service agencies in an effort to make distribution equitable and to reach vulnerable populations.
Friday's city clinic will be hosted from 3 to 9 p.m. at 1313 E. 26th Street. No registration or appointments are necessary, but because of scarce supply those seeking shots should be 18 and over and qualify in one of the following categories: 1) Had unprotected contact with bodily fluids, skin or lesions with someone with a case of monkeypox 2) Attended events with confirmed monkeypox transmission or 3) Had prolonged intimate contact that puts them at high risk for exposure.
MetroHealth's monkeypox vaccination clinic on Friday will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Rammelkamp Atrium at the main campus and will include "Those at high risk for Monkeypox or are likely to have been recently exposedIndividuals who have, or are likely to have, prolonged intimate contact which puts them at high risk for exposure." Appointments are encouraged (call 440-592-6843 and select option 3 to make one) but walk-ins will also be accepted.
