No obstacles for American 'vaccine tourists' snapping up B.C.'s scarce monkeypox doses
A growing number of Americans are travelling to British Columbia to get vaccinated against monkeypox in the face of scarce supplies on both sides of the border, but CTV News has learned health officials have no procedures or plans to preserve domestic supply for local residents.
Identification is not required in order to avoid any stigma or barriers to getting protected against the virus, so public health insists they don’t have any firm statistics on how many Americans have rolled up their sleeves in B.C. But they know they’re coming and that the province’s don’t-ask-don’t-tell approach is contributing to a surge in demand from non-citizens.
CTV News asked to speak with public health officers on so-called “vaccine tourists” who’ve been swapping tips online on how to get vaccinated in Canada and raving about how easy it was, but were refused by Vancouver Coastal Health, while Fraser Health did not provide any information at all.
In an email, Vancouver Coastal Health confirmed that “in the past week, as news on social media and traditional media highlighted B.C.'s low-barrier vaccine campaign, local monkeypox vaccine clinics began to report an increasing number of U.S. residents booking appointments and travelling to B.C. for the express purpose of receiving vaccine.”
While they are discouraging Americans from coming here to get vaccinated, writing that “people who travel from outside Canada to Vancouver Coastal Health vaccine clinics will not receive the monkeypox vaccine,” a spokesperson admitted there is no process to verify citizenship and that no one will be refused if they say they meet the criteria.
Social media users have been sharing information on how Americans can obtain a monkeypox vaccine by crossing the border into B.C. (Instagram)
LIMITED ELIGIBILITY DUE TO SCANT SUPPLY
Those showing up at B.C. clinics have been accepted for the single-dose Imvamune vaccine as long as they identify as a man who has sex with men, works in the sex trade, has had or is planning to have two or more sexual partners in the past three weeks, or has had a bacterial STI diagnosis in the past two months. No one is required to provide identification to destigmatize the process and avoid disclosure of sexual activity impacting someone’s decision to be immunized against further spread of the virus.
Some 12,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered in the province as of Wednesday morning, and there had been a special blitz to vaccinate as many men as possible during Vancouver’s pride events in late July.
There has not been a spike in lab-confirmed cases since then. So far, 85 cases have been reported in British Columbia, all of whom have been men who have sex with men, but around the world there have been some cases outside of that demographic.
Symptoms typically begin with fever, headache, muscle pain, fatigue and swollen lymph nodes, with the characteristic sores or blisters starting between one and five days after that. Contact with the sores is not required for infection and contaminated sheets or bedding are a risk, as is close physical contact, whether it’s sexual or not.
THE IMPORTANCE OF VACCINATION
Some of those infected describe monkeypox causing the “worst pain” in their life. No one has died in Canada from the virus and there have been 1,008 lab-confirmed cases so far nationwide, nearly all in men who have sex with men.
Canada only has 80,000 doses of the smallpox vaccine being used to immunize against the virus. While the U.S. has just decided to split doses five ways in an effort to vaccinate more people, no such announcement has been made here, meaning each dose is important in establishing “ring vaccinations” to keep infections from spreading to the general population.
It’s within that context that B.C. health officials write, “we cannot guarantee vaccine to those visiting the province for the purpose of being vaccinated,” which is hardly the kind of message that’ll discourage Americans or protect the province’s scant vaccine supply.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.