California’s Governor has declared a state of emergency to speed efforts to combat the Monkeypox outbreak. Nearly 800 cases have been reported in the state. There are no known cases of Monkeypox in Shasta County, and public health is trying to head it off before it happens. The state has allocated 22 doses of Monkeypox vaccine to Shasta County Health and Human Services, and they want it to go to those with the highest risk of contracting the disease. Anyone can get Monkeypox, but statistically it has spread mostly among sexually active gay males, so the health officials contacted NorCal OUTreach, a local non-profit organization that serves the LGBTQ+ community. They held an information session for their members last Friday on how to recognize and prevent the spread of Monkeypox, and 13 of the vaccine doses were administered to some high risk individuals. Anyone who would like to be on a waiting list for available Monkeypox vaccine can contact NorCal OUTreach. Information about the disease is at shastahhsa.net.