Hep Team NYC Continues Its Campaign To Fight Hepatitis A & B

June 22, 2006

June 21, 2006

Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B are two STD’s that are actually preventable by

vaccine, but they are still a big concern in the gay community. Just over a

month ago, NY1 first told you about a citywide program launched to raise

awareness and get more people vaccinated. As NY1 continues its coverage of

Pride Week, Health & Fitness Reporter Kafi Drexel filed this update on how

the campaign's been going.

They've appeared in city clinics, gay pride activities, and in a blitz of

ads and posters. The mission of the group Hep Team NYC is to increase

Hepatitis A and B vaccinations among gay and bisexual men citywide.

“Hep Team members who have been visiting clinics and visiting providers have

reported that people have started to come in mentioning the Hep Team program

and looking for a vaccination,” says Harold Levine, the National Coordinator

of the Hep Team Program. “We have seen increasing traffic to our website,

and people have been calling the 311 number to find the free clinic location

near them.”

To Hep Team NYC, that's encouraging news. While everyone who hasn't been

vaccinated is susceptible, Hepatitis A and B, also known as

vaccine-preventable Hepatitis, is more prevalent among men who have sex with

men than the general population.

Hepatitis A, which can also be spread through eating contaminated drinking

food or water, can't be prevented by condom usage, and Hepatitis B can be up

to 100 times more contagious than HIV.

But a recent survey shows a significant number of gay and bisexual men, more

than 40%, haven't been vaccinated. Hep Team, along with other public health

advocates and officials, are hoping to turn that statistic around.

“About 25% of all the Hepatitis cases are happening in the gay community,

and we need to be able to make sure that people know they are at risk, they

can get vaccinated, and they don't have to be sick,” says Jay Laudato,

Executive Director of the Callen-Lorde Health Clinic.

The vaccination campaign will continue to run throughout the summer. The

targeted audience for the campaign is sexually active gay and bisexual men

in their 20s up to age 55. That's because the vaccines are fairly new, and

while most children and adolescents have already had them, many adults have

not.

Hep Team NYC will be giving free vaccinations at PrideFest, Sunday June

25th. You'll be able to find them in the NYC Health Pavilion on West Houston

Street, booths 203-212, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information on vaccinations around the city you can visit

- Kafi Drexel

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June 22, 2006