PSA: Monkeypox vaccine clinic on campus this Thursday

A pop-up monkeypox vaccine clinic is coming to UBC.

On Thursday, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is hosting a pop-up monkeypox vaccine clinic in room 1501 in the Life Building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for eligible community members.

According to an announcement from UBC Events, the clinic will take place in a “private, anonymous setting.” 

The clinic will have the same criteria as other VCH monkeypox vaccine clinics, meaning no ID is required and only eligible members of the Two-Spirit, Trans, gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men communities will be able to get a vaccine. Those who have been identified as a close contact are also eligible.

Along with being members of these communities, people must have been either diagnosed with a bacterial STI within the past two months, had two or more sexual partners in the past 21 days, engaged in sex work, attended venues for sexual contact or had casual sex within the past 21 days or plan to in the future.

While the vaccine is only being offered to some communities at the moment, VCH has said anyone can be infected with monkeypox regardless of sexuality and should monitor for symptoms.

VCH has hosted pop-up clinics before at Vancouver Pride in July, but this is the first to be held on campus.

Currently, eligible UBC students can make an appointment through Student Health Services to get a vaccinated.

Those who are unable to visit the pop-up clinic this week can find other appointments at the VCH website.

Don’t throw away your shot and visit the pop-up UBC clinic or make an appointment. 

A previous version of this story misstated that community members must be 18 years of age to receive the vaccine and that students had to go off campus to get a vaccine. This article was updated on September 14, 2022 at 12:46 p.m.to reflect this change.