For LGBTQ people in New York City, the last Friday in June is usually a fun day. The streets come alive with the hallmarks of a celebratory weekend: music, dancing, kissing, occasional splashes of confetti.
But this year, at the height of the city’s biggest Pride events, the atmosphere takes on a different twist. News on Friday morning of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade case immediately changed the tone of the weekend’s events. In many circles, group chats that had previously been focused solely on party organization planning have turned to coordinating protest plans. Complicating people’s attitudes over the weekend were questions and concerns surrounding monkeypox, a virus that is affecting gay men only slightly.
On Thursday, New York City health officials Expanding access to monkeypox vaccine, offers it to men who have had multiple male or anonymous sex partners in the past 14 days. As of Friday, 39 people in New York City have tested positive for the orthopoxvirus, according to Ministry of Health and Mental Hygienewhich adds that all 39 cases are believed to have been monkeypox.
According to the World Health Organization, monkeypox is transmitted from person to person through close contact with lesions, bodily fluids, respiratory droplets, and contaminated materials. This virus usually begins with symptoms of a red rash, such as fever and swollen lymph nodes, and progresses to a painful rash.
Although anyone can get the virus, now spreading Officials said it was mainly through communities of men who have sex with men.
As pictures of long lines of people waiting to be vaccinated at a sexual health clinic in Manhattan went viral on social media, and as news of monkeypox cases spread around the world, Some New Yorkers are starting to rethink their plans for Pride weekend.
Joseph OsmundsonAn assistant professor of clinical biology at New York University and an advocate for exotic health care, says that growing concerns about smallpox in monkeys have affected Pride’s plans ” almost everyone” he knew.
“Everything from, if you go to the ring party, will you be in the middle of the dance floor or will you lean more to one side, to the type of sex you are having,” Dr. Osmundson, 39, said in a phone interview.
He said he thinks people often “make risk-perceived decisions” while still making space for “companion, fun, community and getting out of the house”.
Finley King, 24, a film production assistant, says that both the monkeypox concerns and the Roe news have affected his plans for the weekend, but he will feel relatively relatable. feel free to join a protest and stand on the sidelines, or go to an outdoor party.
“In terms of anxiety, I’m 4/10 on the panic scale,“He said, adding that he hadn’t seen many of his friends discuss the illness. “I often say that most people my age, that they know about monkeypox and they don’t care, or they don’t even know about it.”
Outside the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village on Friday, 59-year-old Rusty Fox said that what worries him about monkeypox is probably just anxiety left over from the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m a bit paranoid, just because we’re right after Covid,” he said. “So that paranoia is rampant.”
Michael Donnelly, a data scientist, expressed disappointment that this year’s Pride festivities were colored by a different virus after the pandemic essentially derailed the celebrations of the past two years.
“It sucks that we have to deal with another infectious disease that is spreading in our community and face an additional risk that we did not anticipate,” he said. But for Mr Donnelly, 37, “huge demand” for monkeypox vaccine on Thursday points to a silver lining.
“I am proud that we have a community that is communicating about our health, about science, and getting ready to vaccinate to keep ourselves and our communities safe,” he said.
Things to know about monkeypox virus
What is monkeypox? Monkeypox is a virus endemic to parts of Central and West Africa. It is similar to smallpox, but less severe. It was discovered in 1958, after an outbreak of disease in monkeys kept for research, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention release guide to reduce the risk of monkeypox, note that festivals, concerts, and other events where attendees are likely to be fully clothed are safer spaces, including saunas, saunas and sex clubs where only minimal clothing is worn.
Some, like 26-year-old Chris Pierce, feel confident that their individual precautions are enough.
“It’s definitely something people should worry about, especially when we’re inside walls and closed doors,” he said, “but being outside is probably my number one goal at the end of the day. this week.”
The only facility in New York that administers vaccines, the Chelsea Sexual Health Clinic in Manhattan, had to start turning people away almost immediately after opening its doors to vaccinations to eligible New Yorkers. on Thursday.
Of his plans this weekend, Mr Donnelly said he was “one of the lucky few to have been vaccinated, and as a result, I feel somewhat safer”.
Jonathan Valdez, 36, a content creator and podcast host, said the first time a friend of his told him he was happy to be absent from New York City Pride, citing the excuse. concern about smallpox in monkeys. “A lot of people fear that after this weekend,” Valdez said, “the numbers will go up a lot.”
Jeremy Allen contribution report.
