Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Tuesday said state and federal officials are doing everything they can to turn a massive gay-pride event in New Orleans into a model for combatting monkeypox through education and vaccine distribution.
The administration is sending thousands of extra Jynneos vaccine doses to the Southern Decadence festival, which is returning from a two-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Edwards said he expects tens of thousands of people to descend on New Orleans over the Labor Day weekend from all over the state and country.
Most of the 18,000 monkeypox cases recorded in the U.S. have been in gay and bisexual men, so the Biden administration is placing a special emphasis on gay-pride events from coast to coast.
“Being able to prepare for that and to get a head start on the vaccinations, on the testing, on the communications — all extremely important,” Mr. Edwards, a Democrat, said during a White House monkeypox briefing. “There’s no doubt we will learn lessons over the weekend that we can then share with other folks around the country and help them to do an even better job of preparing for similar events.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said extra vaccine shipments to Southern Decadence and the Black Pride Festival in Atlanta this weekend will allow for up to 5,000 vaccinations at each event.
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Mr. Becerra said doses being sent to events in Oakland, California, will allow for 2,400 additional vaccinations, and future festivals will get doses, too.
The Biden administration and local officials…
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