Mpox

About Mpox

Mpox is a disease caused by the Mpox virus. Symptoms may include fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, headache, muscle joint or back pain, exhaustion and a rash that may be painful. Mpox is usually a mild illness, and most people recover on their own after a few weeks. Children, pregnant people, and people with weak immune systems may have a more serious illness.

Resources

    • Imvamune® is a vaccine approved in Canada for protection against mpox, smallpox and related orthopoxvirus infections and diseases.
    • Requires two doses, given 28 days apart, for full protection.
    • Imvamune® is safe and effective. People immunized with mpox vaccine have less severe symptoms, and studies have shown that two doses reduce the risk of mpox by 66 to 83 percent.
    • Can be used before getting exposed to the virus (pre-exposure vaccination) or within 14 days after being exposed (post-exposure vaccination).
    • Should be given to someone who got a smallpox vaccine in the past, to ensure protection against mpox.
    • Takes two weeks after vaccination to give you protection. During these two weeks, consider reducing your number of close contacts, including sex partners.
    • Contains modified virus and cannot make you sick.
    • (MSM) Man or Two-Spirit identifying individual who has sex with another person who identifies as a man, including but not limited to individuals who self-identify as trans-gender, cis-gender, Two-Spirit, gender-queer, intersex, and non-binary who meet one or more of the following criteria:
      • have more than one partner
      • are in a relationship where at least one of the partners has other sexual partners
      • have had a confirmed sexually transmitted infection acquired in the last year have engaged in sexual contact in sex-on-premises venues.
    • Sexual partners of individuals who meet the criteria above
    • Staff or volunteers in sex-on-premises venues where workers may have contact with fomites potentially contaminated with mpox.
    • Those who engage in sex tourism regardless of gender, sex assigned at birth, or sexual orientation.
    • Individuals who anticipate experiencing any of the above scenarios
    • Post-exposure prophylaxis to individuals who have had high risk exposure(s) to a probable or confirmed case of mpox, or within a setting where transmission is happening, if they have not received both doses of pre-exposure vaccination
    • Sex workers regardless of gender, sex assigned at birth, or sexual orientation.
    • Many people have no side effects from vaccines. For those that do, reactions tend to be mild and go away on their own within a few days. Serious side effects are very rare. The most reported side effects include pain, redness, swelling, itching, firmness at the injection site, muscle pain, headache, chills and fatigue.
    • It is important to stay in the clinic for 15 minutes after getting any vaccine because there is an extremely rare chance of a life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. If anaphylaxis happens, you will be given medicine to treat the symptoms.

Find out how to get immunized