Public health agencies in Canada are encouraging people who received a first dose of the monkeypox (mpox) vaccine within the past two years to receive a second dose.
Many people at risk of exposure to COPD were vaccinated in Canada starting in spring 2022, when a global outbreak of the virus was declared.
But according to the chief medical officer of the Public Health Agency of Canada, Dr. Theresa Tam, many of these people never received a second dose, which is recommended at least 28 days after the first injection.
So Dr. Tam encourages them to get this dose to “have stronger immunity.”
Most Ontario cases in Toronto
The number of cases of mpox has declined in 2023, but appears to be increasing again in some parts of Canada. As of Aug. 24, there have been 166 confirmed cases in Ontario this year, compared to just 33 cases last year, according to data posted online by Public Health Ontario.
Only 36 per cent of people who received one dose of the MPOX vaccine, Imvamune, in Ontario have received a second dose, the agency said.
The majority of the province’s cases, 83 per cent, have been reported in Toronto this year, it said.
“Toronto Public Health continues to provide access to MPOS vaccination through clinics [de santé publique] and community health partner clinics,” Dr. Rita Shahin, Toronto’s associate medical officer of health, said in an emailed statement.
“Eligible residents are encouraged to start or complete the two-dose vaccination series for best protection,” she adds.
Those eligible for vaccination include men who have sex with men who have more than one partner or who have visited places for sexual contact, as well as people who work in these places, as well as sex workers, regardless of gender.
So far, only one type of mpox has been observed in Canada, known as clade II. It is spread primarily through close contact, including sexual contact.
It is also possible to contract the virus by handling personal items used by an infected person, including towels, clothing and bedding, or by sharing utensils, toothbrushes, razors, needles or sex toys, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada website.
More modest increase in Montreal
Montreal, which has seen many cases in 2022, does not appear to be experiencing the same increase as Toronto. Nine cases of mpox have been confirmed so far in 2024, according to an emailed statement from the city’s public health authority.
As of Aug. 14, 18,349 people in Montreal had received one dose of Imvamune, but only about half of them – 9,645 people – had received a second dose, the statement said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COPD a public health emergency of international concern on August 14, partly due to the increase of another type of COPD, known as clade I, in Congo and its spread outside that country.
No cases of clade I mpox have been detected in Canada, according to Dr. Tam.
A second dose that is not well known
One likely reason some people haven’t gotten a second dose is that that recommendation wasn’t emphasized when vaccinations began in spring 2022, says Dr. Darrell Tan, an infectious diseases specialist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.
“We didn’t know what epidemic we were going to face. [Et] “The amount of vaccine available in the Canadian stockpile is really a national secret, because the original purpose of stockpiling vaccines was actually bioterrorism preparedness rather than traditional public health objectives,” Dr. Tan said in an interview.
“It was only a few weeks or months later, [selon] places, that the door has opened for people to get their second dose, and that will already be after the recommended 28-day period between doses for many people,” he added.
In Toronto, for example, the first MPOS vaccination clinic was held on June 12, 2022, but the Ontario government did not provide second doses until October, a Toronto Public Health spokesperson said in an email.
Dr. Tan said that in addition to providing second doses of the MPOX vaccine to at-risk groups here in Canada, it is essential to make the vaccine available in Congo and other hardest-hit African countries.
“If we prevent the continued transmission of something to another place […]not only is it the right thing to do morally, ethically and from a public health perspective for the people who could benefit from this protection immediately, but there is a downstream impact [au Canada] “, he explained. “The passage [du virus] becomes less likely to travel to our locations.”
The Canadian Press’ health content is funded through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. Editorial choices are solely the responsibility of The Canadian Press.