Winston Salem Times

The North Star LGBTQ Community Center in Winston-Salem, in partnership with Forsyth County Department of Public Health, last week hosted the first of what will they hope will be recurring monkeypox vaccine clinics.

"It's important to do a reoccurring event, just given people's schedules,” Spencer Foster, a board member with the North Star LGBTB Community Center, said in a recent WFMY report. “Not everyone is available on the same day every week, so we just want to make sure people who weren’t able to make the first one, or if appointments fill up, people still have the opportunity to get a vaccine if they want one.”

The first clinic was held from 4-7 p.m. on July 26 at North Star. People who are interested in receiving the vaccine must meet the eligibility criteria. The Forsyth County Department of Public Health also has vaccines available for those who can't make it to the North Star site during scheduled clinics.

"We can’t prevent everything but it’s just encouraging to see people get ahead of it, so they are making sure they are protected before it does affect our community directly here in Winston,” Foster said.

Thousands of cases of monkeypox have been diagnosed across the U.S., with 50 cases confirmed in North Carolina. Nobody has died from it yet.

The North Star clinics will be held until interest decreases or the health department makes it available for more people. Check with the agency's website for future times.