The Monkeypox Era

Canada confirmed 681 cases of monkeypox across five provinces as the global outbreak of the virus was deemed a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization once again. According to a statement from the Public Health Agency of Canada cases are expected to keep rising. The statement reads: “PHAC continues to work closely with international, provincial and territorial health partners to gather information on this evolving outbreak and to assess the possible risk of exposure of the monkeypox virus in Canada. Canada will continue to work with the WHO and international partners to strengthen the global response to the current monkeypox outbreak.”

Since the beginning of the month in Canada, there has been a doubling of cases to date. Over 70,000 doses of Imvamune, a Health-Canada approved vaccine for immunization against monkeypox, have been distributed to provinces and territories by the federal government to date.

On July 21, the government also announced it will be providing funding to community-based organizations in places most affected by the virus. The most affected areas currently are Quebec with almost half the cases at 331 with Ontario coming in next at 288.

“As the monkeypox outbreak evolves, the Government of Canada will continue to work with Canadian provinces and territories to determine the best courses of action to limit the spread of monkeypox in Canada,” they said.

Many Canadians may have thought the Coronavirus pandemic was over, but since the beginning of 2022 it has proven it not only isn’t going away anytime soon, but it’s bringing a more deadly variant with it’s comeback.