Monkeypox: Last News

Kyle Sandilands has defended his Monkeypox comments he made on air last Tuesday and denied he accusations of  homophobia.While Sandilands is no stranger to controversy his comments when he described Monkeypox on the Kyle and Jackie O Show as the “big gay disease floating around”, has invited censure even from Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton.“Please remind me – what’s the point of Kyle Sandilands? If you can’t say something constructive, maybe keep quiet?,” posted Sutton.Please remind me – what’s the point of Kyle Sandilands? If you can’t say something constructive, maybe keep quiet?— Chief Health Officer, Victoria (@VictorianCHO) August 28, 2022The controversy erupted after Sandilands requested fellow host Jackie O to be vaccinated against whooping cough prior to meeting his newborn son Otto. The topic of Monkeypox then came about after Newsreader Brooklyn Ross asked Sandilands if he needed to have the Monkeypox vaccine.“What about me, do I need the Monkeypox vaccine?” Ross asked.

All Worlds Resort, the clothing optional destination in Palm Springs for gay men, has closed its indoor maze, and night passes are not available to purchase “until the monkeypox vaccine becomes available in our area,” according to a notice on its website. Photo: All Worlds Resort

Victoria’s department of health on Saturday issued a health alert over an emerging monkeypox outbreak in Melbourne and increase in cases of local transmission. As of August 18, Victoria reported around 40 monkeypox cases, with many due to local transmission. Though monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease, the current outbreak has been predominantly among gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men.

We need to have a tough conversation about monkeypox. For the record, this isn’t easy, and it’s not exactly one I’m excited to have. That said, let’s talk about monkeypox nudging closer to being called a sexually transmitted infection, or STI.

A Houston, US-based Gay porn star is winning praise for going public about his battle with monkeypox infection on social media. Silver Steele shared his monkeypox diagnosis with his around 39,000 fans on , providing regular updates about his symptoms, retweeting health alerts and asking people to protect themselves and get vaccinated. Many fans thanked him for encouraging them to get the jab. Last week, the World Health Organisation declared that the monkeypox outbreak was a “public health emergency of international concern”.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has recommended monkeypox vaccines for key risk groups, including gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men who are at high risk of exposure.ATAGI also updated its earlier guideline and in addition to the ACAM2000 vaccine, it has recommended the use of JYNNEOS (MVA-BN) vaccines for monkeypox.Following the update to the vaccination guidelines, Australia’s chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly on Thursday declared monkeypox as a “Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance”. As of July 28, 2022, around 20,311 monkeypox cases have been reported in 71 countries, outside of Central and West Africa where the disease is endemic. This includes 44 monkeypox cases in Australia, a majority among returned international travellers. LGBTQI leaders and organisations in Australia had urged the government to approve and secure supplies of the monkeypox vaccine and offer it to gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men and other at risk individuals.Professor Kelly said that monkeypox was “far less harmful than COVID-19” and “far less transmissible”.

The UK’s top public health agency has said that vaccines against monkeypox will be offered more widely and has recommended jabs to some gay and bisexual men at higher risk of exposure.  The UK recorded around 793 laboratory-confirmed cases of monkeypox as of June 20, 2002 – the biggest outbreak of the disease outside Africa. “Although anyone can contract monkeypox, data from the latest outbreak shows higher levels of transmission within – but not exclusive to – the sexual networks of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men,” said the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). It is important that gay and bi men get the vaccine when offered to protect themselves and others.