LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center To Offer Free Monkeypox Vaccines

WHITE PLAINS, NY — The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center will be offering monkeypox vaccines free of charge.

The LOFT, in partnership with the Westchester County Department of Health, will host an on-campus monkeypox vaccination clinic Thursday.

Appointments can be made between the hours of 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for adults 18 or older.

Information on the second dose will be given to those who have been vaccinated with their first shot.

Officials of The LOFT strongly encourage any and all members of the community who believe they are at risk of becoming infected to get vaccinated immediately.

The community center is believed to be the first LGBTQ+ center in the nation to host a monkeypox vaccination clinic, according to Executive Director Judy Trollo.

"Our clinic is a safe space for LGBTQ+ community members to gain access to the vaccine while also being treated with the dignity that everyone deserved," she said.

To make an appointment at The LOFT, click here.

According to the health experts, monkeypox can be transmitted through simple skin contact when someone's skin rubs or brushes against an infected person's skin. Infection can also occur by touching infected clothing.

It should be noted, health experts said, that the disease can also be transmitted via genital contact but it is not considered a sexually transmitted infection.

Condoms, dental dams, PrEP, birth control, microbicide lubricants and antibiotics typically used to treat STIs will not protect a person from infection.

The latest numbers of infections tracked by the state Department of Health show there are more than 1,100 cases of monkeypox in New York. New York City alone has more than 1,000, with Westchester County having 27.

Dutchess and Rockland counties each have three cases. Orange County has two, and Columbia County has one.