Blog Information

• Posted By : Brad Logan (WGP Admin)
• Posted On : Jul 13, 2022
• Views : 3029
• Category : General
• Description : WGP recommends that our members DO NOT ATTEND PARTIES IN NYC until you have been vaccinated for Monkeypox.
• Location : New York, NY, USA

Heading

• It was announced earlier this week at a NYS/NYC Department of Health Virtual Town Hall that more than 25% of the Monkeypox cases in the entire U.S. are now concentrated in NYC, making New York City the epicenter of the current Monkeypox epidemic.

  
  

  Nearly all of the known cases in NYC are men who have sex with men (MSM).

  
  

  Furthermore, there is every indication that the current numbers are just the tip of the iceberg, and that the virus is spreading much faster and infecting more men than we are currently able to see, sounding off alarms around the MSM group sex community. 

  
  

  Here is what you need to know: 

  
  

  Monkeybox can be an extremely painful disease resulting in a blistering rash that can last up to four weeks. The pain can be so severe that many of the current cases have needed to be hospitalized for pain management. 

  
  

  It also can leave permanent scarring in the area where the rash appears, which in the current outbreak is mostly concentrated around the “genital area” but can also be on the torso, back, hands and face. 
  
  
  
  

  
  

  I don’t know about you guys but all of that makes me think “I definitely do NOT want to get that!”

  
  

  So how bad is the current situation? 

  
  

  Truth is, due to lack of testing, no one can say for sure, but the following factors are signs that things may already be considerably worse than we’ve been able to see so far:

  
  

  As of today, the number of positive cases in NYC have more than tripled in the past week, an indication of very fast spread.

  
  

  New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett mentioned in the town hall this past Monday that “a very high proportion of specimens are testing positive” which indicates there isn’t nearly enough testing being done and the actual number of those already infected is likely much higher than the numbers we are currently seeing.

  
  

  Monkeypox is a “slow-moving virus” where symptoms don’t typically appear until 7 to 14 days, or even UP TO 21 DAYS after infection. This makes it very hard to see what the current situation is and it may not be fully apparent until several weeks after the fact. In the meantime, there likely are (and will continue to be as this rolls on) a large number of men that are unknowingly infected and are attending parties, playing in backrooms, hooking up, and generally physically interacting with other men for up to three weeks before they show any symptoms that they are carrying the virus. 

  
  

  The disease is primarily transmitted through intimate skin-to-skin contact (including anal, oral, hugging, cuddling, massages, etc.), though it can also be contracted through objects or fabrics (towels, bedding, clothing) that have been used by someone with monkeypox, and also can be contracted by respiratory droplets from prolonged face-to-face contact..

  
  

  Given all this information, it is easy to imagine how things could spiral out of control quickly in group sex environments which is why WGP is now strongly advising all of it’s members to avoid attending any parties or events in NYC where there is a chance for intimate skin-to-skin contact until you have had a chance to get vaccinated for Monkeypox. 

  
  

  So when can we all get vaccinated?

  
  

  That is the million dollar question. As of this writing, vaccinations in NYC are extremely hard to come by as demand severely outweighs supply. NYDOH announced on Monday that 1200 vaccination appointments (enough for roughly only 0.4% of the city’s self-identified gay/bi population) were to be made available at 1pm this past Tuesday, and as anyone who tried to get one can tell you, that was pretty much a disaster. The site for making the appointments was constantly spitting out “server not available” messages from the get-go and thousands of people spent hours of their day reloading and reloading only to end up empty handed. More doses are apparently on the way but nowhere near enough, and there is no known timeline on when NYC will finally have enough coming in to meet demand. So it looks like this is a situation our community may be dealing with for quite some time... 
  
  
  

  Party cancellations / suspensions
  
  

  Some party hosts have already started responding to the situation by suspending their parties indefinitely. The Bear Party and Nubian Dukes in NYC, as well as Open Minded Parties in DC led the charge by announcing earlier this week that they were temporarily suspending their parties, and today NY Jacks, GBU, and Milk Chocolate followed suit. My hats off to these hosts for recognizing the potential severity of the situation and acting proactively. I expect we will be seeing most of the other party hosts follow suit in the coming days. 
  
  UPDATE: I'll be keeping a list of cancelled/suspended parties in NYC and beyond down below at the end of this blog and will continue to update it as more cancellations are announced.

  
  

  Here at WGP, I will be adding to the header of each party listing in NYC my recommendation that members do not attend any events in the NYC area until you have been vaccinated against Monkeypox. As of now I’m stopping short of taking the listings down completely (like I did during the early days of Covid) since the virus has so far not proven to be fatal or easily transmittable to those outside of intimate/sexual environments. I also recognize that our members do rely on the site for the listings and information for events all across the continent and should be free to make their own personal decisions after taking all the risk factors into consideration. 

  
  

  For those of you outside NYC…

  
  

  As Dr Bassett mentioned in the town hall, we should all know by now, especially in the Covid age, that “things don’t stay where they start.”  Today it may be NYC, but given the lack of vaccines and nationwide testing, as well as the number of people from across the continent that regularly visit NYC, it is likely just a matter of time before you find this situation hitting close to home. I’ll be keeping an eye on the situation nationally and will add recommendations as necessary, but for now, I would recommend to everyone across the country (or globally even) that you keep your intimate contacts to a minimum and avoid anonymous hookups and group sex situations until you see how this ends up playing out in your community.

  
  

  Obviously everyone is going to need to assess their own risk tolerance and situation and make their own personal decisions. So hey, if you think getting some ass and/or dick now instead of waiting a few weeks or months to get vaxed is worth potentially going through a month in a hospital in excruciating pain and having scarring all over your ass and crotch (and possibly other places) for the rest of your life, obviously no one’s going to stop you. But I hope you will seriously consider the risks and if it is really worth all that. Just keeping it real!
  
  

  Look. I know. I KNOOOOOOW!  This really sucks ass (and not in a good way)! This was supposed to be the summer where we could all finally cut loose again, let out all that pent up frustration from the past few years and have a really fun-filled summer again at last! 

  
  

  But there’s always next summer…

  
  

  Until then, keep yourself well, keep yourself safe, until more fun-filled days yet to come.

  
  

   - Brad

  
  
  

  For more information including vaccination appointment availability visit nyc.gov/health/monkeypox

  
  

  For additional updates:

  Text MONKEYPOX to 692692

  Follow @nycHealthy on Twitter
  
  
  UPDATE:
  
  

  Here are the parties that WGP is aware of that have been cancelled/suspended so far in response to the Monkeypox outbreak
  
  NYC
  The Bear Party
  Workman's Lunch
  Blow Buddies
  Manhole
  Nubian Dukes
  NY Jacks
  GBU Midtown
  GBU College Rush
  Locker Room Fridays (Milk Chocolate NYC)
  Latino Caliente
  TranSexualX
  Latin Leche
  Sunrise (Ric Sena)
  FootmenNYC
  GBU Platinum
  
  DC:
  Open Minded Parties
  
  Philly:
  Philadelphia Jacks
  
  San Fran:
  Horse Market - San Francisco
  
  
  PARTIES SUSPENDED DUE TO VENUE CLOSINGS:
  
  Due to the recent closure of Paddles in Chelsea and Members Only Club in Hell's Kitchen (that were both closed due to issues unrelated to Monkeypox) the following parties are also suspended until they are able to find new homes:
  
  Athletic Support Group
  Encores
  JOC (Jacks of Color)
  Jock Party
  ManHunterNYC
  Milk Chocolate NYC Fridays
  Overtime
  PerVertNYC
  Scum
  Thrust