- Building Healthy Online Communities has launched https://mpoxvaxmap.org/, providing information to people in the U.S. and Puerto Rico about where they can get the MPV vaccine. The project is also mobilizing volunteers to vet information in order to ensure the most accurate information is available to the communities most affected by MPV.
- The gay leather community is responding to MPV. Daniel Driffin, who is working with NMAC to influence federal policy on MPV, participated on August 23 in a special episode of the Daddy Rod Show, specifically devoted to educating and mobilizing the leather community to address MPV. You can view the entire episode at https://youtu.be/PtojDgsIkiU.
- Health officials in Puerto Rico recently joined up with three LGBTQI+-serving organizations to undertake a successful MPV vaccine drive in San Juan.
- At the upcoming U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS, AIDS United, NASTAD, the National Coalition of STD Directors, NMAC and the AIDS Institute will host a town hall meeting on MPV. During this meeting, community stakeholders will have a chance to ask questions and make statements to federal, state and local leaders about actions needed to address MPV, including steps to increase vaccine supply and ensure vaccine equity.
- NMAC continues to advocate for a strong and effective national MPV response that addresses the needs of communities of color. Daniel Driffin and Damián Cabrera-Candelaria, NMAC’s focal points for federal MPV advocacy, met on Monday with Laura Cheever, associate administrator of the HRSA HIV/AIDS bureau, encouraging steps to leverage the Ryan White infrastructure to ensure equitable access to essential MPV services. Also, this week, Daniel and Damián are meeting with Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, and with Admiral Rachel Levine, Assistant Secretary of Health in the Department of Health and Human Services. In all these meetings, NMAC is advocating for action to increase the supply of MPV vaccine, to ensure equitable vaccine access, and to engage gay/bisexual men of color.