Mpox Vaccines: St. John’s Increases Efforts to Reach Communities of Color

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, August 22 2022

Contact: Cabot Petoia, [email protected], 828-899-9239

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Los Angeles —  Today, to counter racial disparities among those who have received the monkeypox vaccine in Los Angeles – while more than half of cases are among Black and Latinx gay/bi men – St. John’s Community Health announced additional strategies to reach communities of color.

St. John’s has opened fulltime monkeypox vaccination clinics at health centers in Crenshaw, Compton, Lincoln Heights, and Boyle Heights –  which are majority Black or Latinx neighborhoods – to make appointments more accessible to the communities who need the vaccine most.

Additionally, they are doing targeted text messaging, social media advertising, and community outreach.

“The racial disparities in both monkeypox cases and vaccination levels are more evidence of alarming gaps in healthcare access,” said Jim Mangia, president and CEO of St. John’s Community Health. “Governmental and public health officials must reach those who face continued structural and racialized barriers to health and safety. We must continue implementing comprehensive, creative strategies to literally meet folks where they are.”