SF Health Officials Renew Mpox Vaccine Push

SAN FRANCISCO, CA With the Folsom Street Fair about a month away and more than 70 mpox cases reported in San Francisco this year, city health officials this week urged people to get vaccinated and watch for symptoms.

The Folsom Street Fair is scheduled for Sept. 27 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, according to organizers. The San Francisco Department of Public Health issued the advisory ahead of the fair, saying there is still time for people who haven't been vaccinated to begin the two-dose series.

As of Monday, more than 70 cases of mpox had been reported in San Francisco in 2026, including eight cases of clade I mpox, according to the Department of Public Health.

The department confirmed the city's first clade I case, one of the two types of mpox, on April 14. The case involved an unvaccinated adult who was hospitalized and improving when health officials announced it two days later. The person reported close contact with someone who had traveled internationally.

The department says all confirmed clade I cases in San Francisco so far have been associated with international travel. Clade I may cause more severe illness than clade II, which caused a large U.S. outbreak in 2022.

Both spread primarily through close skin-to-skin contact, including during sexual activity, and can cause similar symptoms.

Both clade strands can cause similar symptoms such as fever, swollen lymph nodes or fatigue, followed by a rash that can resemble pimples or blisters and may be painful. The department recommends that people who develop a rash that looks like mpox contact a health care provider for testing and notify partners who may have been exposed.

Anyone can contract mpox, but the department said most reported U.S. cases have been among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, as well as transgender people who have sex with men.

"While we are in a much better place than we were during the 2022 outbreak, mpox infections can and still do occur," San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip said in the department's advisory.

Health officials are encouraging people at risk for mpox, including those planning to travel to parts of Africa and Europe where clade I has been reported, to receive both doses of the vaccine.

The second dose can be given at least 28 days after the first, and the department says people who wait longer than 28 days don't need to restart the series. Booster doses aren't currently recommended for people who have completed both doses, and vaccination is not recommended at this time for people who previously had mpox.

Dr. Julia Janssen, deputy director of the department's sexually transmitted infection and HIV branch, said vaccination reduces the chance of infection and helps protect against severe illness, hospitalization and death. The department also says the vaccine can be given to people who are immunocompromised, including people living with HIV or taking medications that suppress the immune system.

Health officials cautioned that vaccination does not eliminate the possibility of infection. Fully vaccinated people should still watch for symptoms and seek testing if they develop them.

The vaccine is available through health care providers and local pharmacies. The Department of Public Health directs people without insurance or those having difficulty finding a vaccine to its mpox information and vaccination resources at sf.gov/mpox.

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