ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — A rise in monkeypox cases across Colorado has some people in the LGBTQ+ community taking extra precautions.
Colorado has recorded 28 new monkeypox cases so far in July, according to the state health department. That's an average of more than one case per day.
The increase in cases has leadership at Mile High Behavioral Healthcare, a healthcare provider that primarily serves vulnerable populations including the LGBTQ+ community, taking precautionary measures to help people stay healthy.
"Client safety is our highest priority and so we always want to make sure we’re providing the most up-to-date and medically accurate information to our clients," said Zane Guilfoyle, the director of public health and community engagement for the organization. "So we’re always looking at our policies and procedures to reflect that to make sure we’re keeping that client safety at the top of our priority."
Mile High Behavioral Healthcare runs the Transgender Center of the Rockies. The organization has a program called Marsha's Closet, a place where transgender individuals can access free clothing.
"It's like basically a free thrift shop for folks to come in and take free gender-affirming clothing because we know a lot of people in the transgender communities might not feel comfortable shopping for clothes out in the public," Guilfoyle explained.
Last week, the organization announced that Marsha's Closet will temporarily stop accepting clothing donations, due to the increase in monkeypox cases in Colorado.
"We just want to make sure the clothing that we are providing to the community is safe," Guilfoyle said.
The 28 cases recorded in July is up from just six cases in June, according to Colorado Department of Public Health (CDPHE).
"We’ve been working hard on getting [monkeypox] vaccines to as many Coloradans that we can who are eligible," said Dr. Alexis Burakoff a CDPHE epidemiologist.
Burakoff said the state has administered roughly 1,300 doses of the monkeypox vaccine through clinics. Right now, there is only a limited group of people considered high risk that are eligible for the vaccine:
- People who have had contact with a known monkeypox case
- Men 18 years old and older who have sex with other men
"We'll just keep pushing out as many doses as we can and expanding locations to try and make it as available as possible," Burakoff added.
CDPHE encouraged anyone at high-risk looking to get a vaccine to continuously check their website. Any time supply opens up, a form to sign-up for a vaccine will be available online.
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