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Planned Parenthood is Helping to Stop the Spread of Mpox by Offering Vaccines and Testing for a Second Year in a Row 

For Immediate Release: June 16, 2023


Media Contact: Diane Padilla, VP of Communications & Marketing at PPPSGV 

c: 323.636.2934 

**PRESS RELEASE** 

Planned Parenthood is Helping to Stop the Spread of Mpox by Offering Vaccines and Testing for a Second Year in a Row 

Los Angeles County is preparing for an increase in mpox cases, and the Department of Public Health is “strongly recommending” at risk people get two doses of the vaccine. 

Pasadena, Calif. — Mpox vaccines and testing are now available at all Planned Parenthood Pasadena & San Gabriel Valley (PPPSGV) health centers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a health alert last month warning that rates could spike with LGBTQ+ pride parades underway. PPPSGV and other local health care organizations are partnering with the Los Angeles County and Pasadena Departments of Public Health to ensure all at-risk individuals have access to preventative mpox vaccines and aware of symptoms and testing facilities.

“It’s important that everyone stays safe and protected,” said Sarah Egan, Director of Medical Services at PPPSGV. “Last year, people at risk for mpox stepped up and got vaccinated and it stopped the spread of the virus. At-risk people who didn’t receive the vaccine last year can come to their local Planned Parenthood to get vaccinated. It’s also important to be aware of mpox symptoms and get tested if you have a new or unexplained rash or lesion on your body. Together we can reduce the spread of mpox, with vaccination, managing your exposure risk, and getting a checkup for any skin changes.” 

According to the CDC, early detection can help stop the spread of mpox. Signs and symptoms include: 

  • A new, flat lesion that becomes bumpy and filled with a white-yellow fluid that breaks open and scabs over. Lesions may be deep-seated, firm, well-circumscribed and umbilicated (they have a dimple in the middle, like a belly button). The rash may:  
    • Appear anywhere on the body, including palms, soles and anogenital region   
    • Be localized to a specific body site or diffuse  
    •  Be the only symptom people experience  
    • Be painful, painless, or itchy  
  •  Fever, headache, malaise, chills, and swollen lymph nodes under the neck or in the groin may occur.  
  • Patients may present with anorectal pain, rectal bleeding, or tenesmus in association with visible perianal skin lesions and proctitis. 

If you or some you’ve had sex with has mpox symptoms, please make an appointment at any PPPSGV health center by visiting PPPSGV.org or calling 626.798.0706. 

Last year, PPPSGV administered the mpox vaccine during the height of the outbreak and vaccinated more than 60 people.  

About Planned Parenthood Pasadena & San Gabriel Valley (PPPSGV) 

Founded in 1933, we serve the Northeast Los Angeles and the greater San Gabriel Valley communities by providing a variety of sexual and reproductive health care for all people, including the provision of birth control, sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention and treatments, cervical cancer screenings, mammograms, transgender care, PEP/PrEP HIV-prevention medications, and more. And in many of the communities we’re in, PPPSGV is the sole abortion provider.  

As one of the most innovative and established Planned Parenthoods in the nation, we are a $26MM organization that strives to ensure the sexual and reproductive health services we provide are in line with the needs of the communities we serve. We offer trusted and compassionate care from our five health centers in Alhambra, Baldwin Park, Glendora, Highland Park, and Pasadena. Our reach extends outside of our health centers through educating our youth, advocating for policies that support the people we serve, expanding sexual and reproductive health care, and making essential health care accessible to everyone who needs it. Our service area extends from Glendora to Glendale and from the San Gabriel Mountains to the San Bernardino freeway, home to 24 communities and a diverse population of 1.4 million people. 

  

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