Given the increase in positive cases of monkeypox, activists and members of the LGBT+ community protested outside the offices of the Ministry of Health in Mexico City to demand early vaccination this Saturday afternoon.

Under the slogan “smallpox no, vaccine yes”, the protesters dressed up lesions to mimic the blisters caused by monkeypox infection and they placed different messages with vegetable paint around the building that is located on Homero Avenue, Polanco neighborhood.

Alaín Pinzón, director of the organization “VIHve Libre”, stressed that the men who have sex with men and people who are living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) They are the main affected by the virus, which adds up to just over 52,997 cases worldwide.

The response to monkeypox in Mexico remains insufficient, 100 days after the first cases were detected of monkeypox in Mexico, the federal government still fails to implement timely measures for detection, prevention and care.

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Also, the activist stressed that different Latin American countries develop strategies that include the purchase of vaccines compared to the actions implemented by the Mexican health authorities, by limiting themselves to sharing prevention information through social networks.

Every day without a diagnosis is a lost opportunity for care and prevention, it is urgent to buy vaccines, Cofepris must authorize the vaccine and the Ministry of Health has to buy it immediately.

Since Last July a peaceful protest was held to demand vaccination against monkeypox on the outskirts of the former headquarters of the Ministry of Health, which is located in front of the Estela de Luz in CDMX.

At that time, the activists limited themselves to putting up posters and they claimed to continue with protests if they did not receive a prompt response from the health authorities.

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It should be noted that the Danish company Bavarian Nordic announced in early September that it would begin distributing the only authorized vaccine against monkeypox in different countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The laboratory signed an agreement with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to facilitate access to its vaccine to the states that participate in the PAHO Revolving Fund for Access to Vaccines.

Monkeypox is usually an illness that lasts 2 to 4 weeks. and is spread from one person to another by close contact with skin lesionsbody fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials.

However, it was recently reported the first case of transmission of monkeypox from a person to a domestic pet and the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated the importance of monitoring the transmission of the virus to other species in order to control its spread before any mutation occurs.

Until last September 5, The Ministry of Health registered a total of 788 confirmed infections of monkeypox throughout the country. According to the weekly report, cases were reported in a total of 28 entities, among which CDMX and Jalisco headed the list of cases.

Of the total confirmed cases, 98% correspond to men and 2% to women; 44.4% of people are between 30 and 39 years old, that is, 350 of the 788 confirmed. Likewise, 11 are under 20 years old; 195, from 20 to 29; 178 between 40 and 49; 46 from 50 to 59; and eight people, 60 years or older.