As Kelechi Kalu books gigs as a musician, he wonders whether he is putting himself at risk for monkeypox.

He finds himself second-guessing how close people are getting to him at bars or music venues. He got nervous when his boyfriend said he had scheduled a massage. He has even avoided trying on clothes when out shopping, worried that the virus could spread on contaminated fabric.

B次元官网网址淚 havenB次元官网网址檛 necessarily stopped going out,B次元官网网址� said Kalu, a queer man living in West Hollywood, B次元官网网址渂ut IB次元官网网址檇 be lying if I said that monkeypox wasnB次元官网网址檛 on my mind 24/7.B次元官网网址�

For many Californians B次元官网网址� especially gay and bisexual men B次元官网网址� worries about the disease have transformed the ways they have fun and connect.

Right now, Kalu is not eligible for a vaccine to combat monkeypox, an infectious disease that can cause painful lesions. The scarcity of vaccines to combat the virus, which has disproportionately hit men who have sex with men, has led health agencies to limit who can get the shots as they await more doses.

So gay and bisexual men, transgender people and others worried about their risk are coming up with practical strategies to protect themselves as they wait for vaccinations. The virus can spread through skin-to-skin contact with lesions, scabs or infected fluids, as well as through contaminated clothing or bedding. Health officials say it can also travel through respiratory droplets.

The illness is rarely fatal, but can be excruciatingly painful, leave enduring scars, and force people to isolate for weeks. Dr. Kaiyti Duffy, chief medical officer for the Los Angeles LGBT Center, said some patients have suffered lesions that make it agonizing to sit, stand or have a bowel movement. The need to isolate has also forced some patients to B次元官网网址渙ut themselvesB次元官网网址� to employers, she said.

B次元官网网址淭he government needs to produce more vaccine and get it in the arms of people who need it B次元官网网址� like now,B次元官网网址� said Matthew J. Mimiaga, a professor of epidemiology and psychiatry who directs the UCLA Center for LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Research and Health. B次元官网网址淏ut I donB次元官网网址檛 think gay and bisexual men will let that be the only prevention opportunity that they take.B次元官网网址�

As of Thursday, more than 1,300 monkeypox cases had been reported across California, including more than 450 in the Los Angeles and Long Beach areas.

Alarm over the spread of the virus, which prompted emergency declarations from Gov. Gavin B次元官网网址om and the Biden administration last week, has spurred many queer men and transgender people to change how they are socializing, celebrating, and seeking love and sex. Some said they were steering clear of crowds or not seeking out new partners.

Much like COVID-19, B次元官网网址渢he more contacts you have, the more risk you have B次元官网网址� and others have B次元官网网址� of getting exposed,B次元官网网址� said Dan Wohlfeiler, co-founder of Building Healthy Online Communities, a public-private partnership between dating sites and apps and STD and HIV prevention organizations. His group has encouraged people to ask sexual partners if they have had any recent rashes or sores; to get a phone number or other contact information for any hookups to alert them if they were exposed; and to hold off on sex if they feel unwell, among other guidance.

Sexual expression B次元官网网址渋s a huge part of gay culture and building gay community,B次元官网网址� said Ian W. Holloway, a UCLA professor of social welfare and director of its Gay Sexuality and Social Policy Initiative. But B次元官网网址渋n the face of a pathogen thatB次元官网网址檚 spreading in a way that we havenB次元官网网址檛 seen before B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 not a bad idea to press pause for a period of time. We know the vaccine is on its way.B次元官网网址�

Mat铆as Gomez Constenla, a bartender at the Eagle LA, said that people seem to be going out less; some are suggesting leaving shirts on at circuit parties that are normally a bonanza of skin. In San Francisco, writer and activist Race Bannon has noticed that whenever someone comes up and wants a hug, B次元官网网址渢heyB次元官网网址檙e back to asking me, B次元官网网址楢re you hugging?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

At the New Jalisco Bar in downtown Los Angeles, bartender Lorena Garcia lamented that the crowds had dwindled with the latest COVID-19 wave and the added threat of monkeypox. B次元官网网址淚t has slowed down a bit here at night,B次元官网网址� Garcia said in Spanish, as roughly half a dozen men sipped Bud Lights and watched a performer lip-sync to Mexican ballads.

Garcia missed the usual tips, but was glad that the regulars were paying attention. B次元官网网址淓veryone is definitely aware of the danger,B次元官网网址� the bartender said.

And in Palm Springs, an event planner said monkeypox had stirred up confusion in his industry. B次元官网网址淓veryoneB次元官网网址檚 asking, B次元官网网址榃hat do we do?B次元官网网址� ThereB次元官网网址檚 a fear factor around travel,B次元官网网址� said the event planner, who asked not to use his full name to avoid hurting his career. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 such a destination valley for the gay community and now people are asking, B次元官网网址楧o I really want to get in that hot tub?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

Community advocates have come up with practical guides to help sexually active people reduce their risks.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 never been a better time to dress from top to bottom in latex or leather,B次元官网网址� the San Francisco AIDS Foundation advised people headed to a kink and fetish festival. The foundation also encouraged people to B次元官网网址渃onsider skipping the dark, back rooms at parties if theyB次元官网网址檙e super crowded and thereB次元官网网址檚 no way to control who youB次元官网网址檙e bumping up against and rubbing skin-to-skin with.B次元官网网址�

Another guide, titled B次元官网网址淪ix Ways We Can Have Safer Sex in the Time of Monkeypox,B次元官网网址� suggested that B次元官网网址渋t might be time to hang up the group sex and saunas until we all get shots one and two of the vaccine,B次元官网网址� framing it as a stopgap measure until there are adequate supplies of the shots.

That guide, written by investigators with the LGBTQ community-led survey RESPND-MI, also suggested B次元官网网址渟ex podsB次元官网网址� to reduce the risk. Those are the sexual equivalent of the insulated groups that people formed early in the COVID-19 pandemic to keep socializing in smaller circles: groups of people who agree only to have sex with other members, after first checking for symptoms.

Grant Roth, one of the investigators with RESPND-MI, said that the most obvious way to protect oneself is to limit or abstain from sex, B次元官网网址渂ut as we know historically, that does not work for a lot of people.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚f you canB次元官网网址檛 get the average American to wear a mask to the grocery store, itB次元官网网址檚 a little myopic to tell gay men that they need to stay home and not have sex for an indefinite number of monthsB次元官网网址� until the vaccine is rolled out, said Dr. Timothy M. Hall, a health sciences assistant clinical professor in UCLAB次元官网网址檚 Center for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine.

In Hollywood, marketing consultant Andrew Beaver said heB次元官网网址檚 not trying to meet new partners online, instead focusing on people he has already met. That makes it easier B次元官网网址渢o have a conversation about whatB次元官网网址檚 going on,B次元官网网址� said Beaver, a 59-year-old gay man. Hooking up with B次元官网网址渟omebody I just met and meeting in an environment that is darker or there isnB次元官网网址檛 a lot of pre-conversation B次元官网网址� that is something that, because of where we are right now, I have decided not to do.B次元官网网址�

After repeated attempts, he recently got his first shot of the vaccine.

One challenge is that condoms go only so far to thwart a disease that can be spread by lesions all over the body, said Duffy of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. So Duffy said the center has urged people to have honest conversations with sexual partners about any possible exposures. If people are meeting through an app, those conversations can happen before they even meet.

B次元官网网址淭here is a level of responsibility that we have to ourselves and to our partners,B次元官网网址� said Jeffrey C. King, founder and executive director of In the Meantime MenB次元官网网址檚 Group, which aims to enrich and empower Black gay men of all ages. King, who is gay, said someone he phoned recently told him that they had monkeypox.

That kind of openness needs to happen more, King said, but is often thwarted B次元官网网址渂ecause of this whole thing around stigma and shame.B次元官网网址� Wohlfeiler noted that even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has gotten unusually frank about ways to reduce sexual risk, including suggesting that sexually active people consider touching themselves at a distance from a partner.

B次元官网网址淭he things that had given us freedom as a community to be sexualB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� prophylactic treatments like PrEP to prevent HIV infection B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址渁re not effective in this instance,B次元官网网址� said Troy Masters, publisher of the Los Angeles Blade, an LGBTQ newspaper that recently helped host a forum on monkeypox. B次元官网网址淪o weB次元官网网址檙e in an odd space of not really understanding what we can do to have sexual expression B次元官网网址� unless weB次元官网网址檙e just very, very cautious and mindful of the person that weB次元官网网址檙e with.B次元官网网址�

Although the virus can spread during sexual encounters, health agencies and community groups have reminded people that other forms of skin-to-skin contact can also pose a risk. The Sacramento LGBT Community Center, which operates shelters for teens and young adults, has also cautioned them against sharing bedding and clothing.

B次元官网网址淚f IB次元官网网址檓 playing basketball, or if IB次元官网网址檓 in a club dancingB次元官网网址� with skin-to-skin contact with someone who has lesions, B次元官网网址渢hen I run the risk of contracting it,B次元官网网址� said Alexis Sanchez, director of advocacy and training for the Sacramento center. She added that masks can double as a tool to protect against respiratory droplets for both monkeypox and COVID-19.

Sanchez, like others, said that health agencies and community groups have been walking a tightrope, trying to highlight that queer communities have been disproportionately hit by the rise of monkeypox and need to be targeted for help, while not stigmatizing them or perpetuating the idea that only gay men can contract the disease.

At Precinct, a downtown bar that caters to a more hirsute gay crowd, Chris Reyes and Bobby Cortez were hanging out on the patio after getting vaccinated the previous week. Cortez was glad that public health officials were prioritizing gay men and others at higher risk for vaccines, but expressed frustration that B次元官网网址渢heyB次元官网网址檙e making it out to be just a gay thing.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淢y co-worker said, B次元官网网址榊ou canB次元官网网址檛 get it if youB次元官网网址檙e not gay,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Cortez said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 a huge mistake, that people can think that.B次元官网网址�

Kalu is in a monogamous relationship, but he worries about getting infected in other ways, including social events with friends. For the West Hollywood resident, who got COVID-19 more than two years ago and has suffered enduring conditions, including nerve pain, the rise of monkeypox cases feels like being pulled back to the beginning of the pandemic.

B次元官网网址淭wo years later, IB次元官网网址檓 an anxious asthmatic mess and a new girl is here in town and her name is monkeypox and sheB次元官网网址檚 come to get us,B次元官网网址� Kalu said. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 understand why weB次元官网网址檙e treating this as if we didnB次元官网网址檛 just go through another pandemic.B次元官网网址�

Health and community groups have faulted the slow rollout of vaccines. Tyler TerMeer, chief executive of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, lamented B次元官网网址渢he lack of urgency when a public health crisis is impacting the men-who-have-sex-with-men community in our country.B次元官网网址� For some, the moment has pernicious echoes not only of COVID-19 but also of the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 from a generation which remembers what the stigma of HIV/AIDS was like in the B次元官网网址�80s and B次元官网网址�90s,B次元官网网址� said Dorian Wood, 47, a gender-fluid musician who uses the pronouns she and they. Wood said she was the first person vaccinated against monkeypox at the Los Angeles LGBT Center in Hollywood. She was alarmed by government messaging that she felt was B次元官网网址渟ingling us out,B次元官网网址� rather than urging everyone to take precautions to avoid the virus.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 infuriating. I feel like we are left, once again, fending for ourselves and taking care of our own,B次元官网网址� Wood said.

Duffy said she hopes that the emergency declarations by B次元官网网址om and local officials will translate into more resources. B次元官网网址淚f there continues to be no funding and no messaging about what an emergency this is for those of us who are caring for the LGBT community, itB次元官网网址檚 going to spread,B次元官网网址� she said.

Roth said that thankfully, there are already vaccines and treatment to combat monkeypox, unlike when HIV began to threaten queer communities. But the long and devastating history of AIDS in this country underscores that B次元官网网址渋n times of health crisis, the queer community really does step up for themselves,B次元官网网址� he said.

Gay men and other queer people at risk have clamored for the vaccines when they can get them: In San Francisco and Los Angeles, people have waited hours to get the shots. An L.A. County public health official said that last month, when the department opened up thousands of additional slots on an online portal for monkeypox vaccinations, they were filled within three hours. At a recent news conference, TerMeer said the wait list for vaccines at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation had surpassed 10,000.

B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know a single person thatB次元官网网址檚 hesitating to get the vaccine,B次元官网网址� said Bannon, the San Francisco activist. That too is the legacy of decades of the HIV/AIDS crisis, said Bannon, 68, who is HIV-positive and lost a partner. B次元官网网址淭rust me, if anyone I knew back then knew that they could go and get a shot and stop it B次元官网网址� they would have done it.B次元官网网址�