Dallas nonprofits are collaborating to set up a relief fund for individuals directly affected by the monkeypox virus, which continues to circulate within the city and elsewhere in the nation.
Roughly 700 cases of monkeypox infection were confirmed in Dallas County as of last Friday. The duration of the illness poses significant challenges for some of those infected because it can take two to four weeks before an infected person clears the virus entirely and ceases to be contagious, according to the CDC.
“A lot of folks do not have the insurance or the backing of their employer in order to be gone for that long because this isn’t COVID,” stated City Councilman Omar Narvaez, speaking with CBS 11.
To limit the spread, people infected with monkeypox are urged to quarantine in isolation until they clear the virus and all their lesions heal. Those who cannot work remotely or are too stricken by symptoms could find themselves in financially precarious situations.
Local nonprofits have collaborated to help take on the financial challenges some infected persons may be experiencing.
Abounding Prosperity, Dallas Pride, and Hope Health and Wellness Center are putting together food boxes, financial assistance, and home care kits for those directly affected by the virus.
“We’re seeing a lot of cases where people are walking in, some even infected with monkeypox, and not knowing where to go,” said the founder and chief executive officer of Abounding Prosperity, Kirk Myers-Hill, speaking with CBS 11.
“People confusing it with other diseases, sometimes thinking it’s a pimple, not having a lot of other information out there,” Myers-Hill continued. “We’re not only offering the vaccine but educating people as well.”
As reported previously in The Dallas Express, Abounding Prosperity held a pop-up vaccine clinic last month.
However, because of the country’s limited supply of vaccine doses, local health agencies like Dallas County Health and Human Services enforce a list of criteria restricting eligibility to the people most at risk for contracting the monkeypox virus.
