Some of my slaves and sissies, and a few friends on Fetlife (eg _Papa-Bear_ - https://fetlife.com/users/5273655), have been encouraging me to post more about Monkeypox – and in particular my experiences so far. But looking back to my previous posts (see https://msemilieoxford.com/2022/08/12/monkeypox-hiatus and https://msemilieoxford.com/2022/09/13/monkeypox-update), there was just a great deal of uncertainty and confusion.
But finally, there is some good news about Monkeypox – both personal and national.
At the personal level, I managed to secure my second Monkeypox vaccine. There were several false starts (booked appointments that were cancelled, no availability), but over the past few weeks it appears that vaccine availability has improved. So last week, courtesy of the wonderful staff at UCSF, I got my second intradermal shot at their Mission Bay facility.
Interestingly enough, I had a much reduced reaction this time – with much reduced swelling and redness – perhaps because my immune system mounted a much more effective and faster response?
At the national level, Monkeypox cases (at least reported cases) are steadily declining - see https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/mpx-trends.html. That might be a combination of things – improved vaccine availability and uptake, changed behavior in the most affected demographics. And despite the long tail in the CDC graph, the situation is improving.
But there is also bad news… I will not be booking sessions for (at least) another few weeks – until I am sure that I have reached maximum immune system effectiveness. The CDC recommends two weeks after the second injection, but I might be a tad more cautious. There is still some uncertainty whether, if I am 90-95% protected, how protected am I from infection? Can I still get infected and pass that infection on to someone close to me?
The bottom line is that I will probably be restarting sessions again in November. But I am not being hard and fast about that. We will see…
Stay safe…
Ms Emilie