More than 50 clients receive MPXV vaccine in first stage of the rollout
It’s been a busy few weeks for our Client Services team, with the arrival of the first batch of MPXV vaccines in Australia.
We’ve been partnering with NSW Health and community health organisations including ACON, The Albion Centre, Kirketon Road Centre, Positive Life NSW and many others to ensure those most vulnerable have been given the opportunity to take part in the initial stages of the vaccine rollout.
Last week more than 50 of our clients received their vaccination, and in doing so have made an important contribution to protecting their own health and the health of the wider community.
We are very grateful to Carolyn Murray and the team at NSW Health for the opportunity to support our client community in the first wave of MPXV vaccinations.
Prioritising people living with HIV for the first wave of vaccinations was an important and appropriate step in ensuring good health outcomes for an already vulnerable population.
We are similarly encouraged by the World Health Organisation’s decision to change the name of Monkeypox to something more accurate to reduce discrimination and stigma.
A group of 29 scientists have called for the urgent renaming of the Monkeypox to something more neutral. They said, "In the context of the current global outbreak, continued reference to, and nomenclature of this virus being African, is not only inaccurate but is also discriminatory and stigmatising,"
We feel this is a positive step forward as we are well aware of the stigmatising nature of the terminology used in health, particularly when viruses are disproportionately impacting minority communities, like we’re seeing with MPXV in western countries.
We want to thank our clients who have taken part in the vaccine rollout so far, NSW Health and the community health organisations who have mobilised to ensure those most at risk are protected.
Free Information Session
To help our community stay safe and prepared, ACON has assembled a panel of experts to answer your questions.
A free online community forum will take place on Tuesday, 23rd August at 6pm to have all of your MPXV questions answered by community health professionals.
For further information about MPXV and the vaccine rollout, please visit the ACON website
