NOLA Health Official: Southern Decadence “Will Be A Superspreader Event” Without MPX Vaccine Availability

The Louisiana Illuminator reports:

Southern Decadence, advertised as the largest LGBTQ+ festival held annually in the Deep South, is scheduled for Labor Day weekend (Sept. 1-5) in New Orleans. It typically attracts 100,000 to 300,000 participants and is a major economic boon to the city in a season when tourism is otherwise sluggish. Health officials at the state and local level say Louisiana’s meager vaccine supply will leave the state vulnerable to a large monkeypox outbreak following such a massive event.

Southern Decadence could also further the virus spread in other parts of the country if visitors become infected while in New Orleans and carry monkeypox back to their hometowns, they said. “This will be a superspreader event without additional vaccine doses ahead of time to get as many people as possible [vaccinated],” said Jennifer Avegno, New Orleans health director and an emergency room physician, in an interview this week.

Read the full article.

Dr. Avegno, you may recall, earned national acclaim for her work to stem the COVID pandemic.

With limited monkeypox vaccine, the Southern Decadence festival in New Orleans is raising concerns, but the federal government has resisted calls from Louisiana health officials to provide more vaccine https://t.co/fV6Lv6gDuD via @JSODonoghue #lalege #lagov

— Melinda Deslatte (@MelindaDeslatte) August 4, 2022