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The association believes that the cost of the monkeypox virus (MPox) vaccine will hinder the immunization of foreign workers living in Macau without resident status. Two doses of the vaccine cost nearly MOP3,500
On Friday, Macau’s health bureau recommended that health professionals and “high-risk groups” receive two doses of measles vaccine, including those who engage in “casual sexual activity or with multiple sexual partners.”
The MPox vaccine is free for residents with residency status. But for overseas workers, including those from mainland China, the price for two doses is 3,460 patacas, according to Portuguese public television channel TDM Macau.
“Who is willing to be vaccinated?” asked Benedicta Palcon, a representative of the Migrant Workers Coalition of the Green Party of the Philippines.
According to official data, the median monthly income of Macau’s employed population was 17,900 patacas in the second quarter of this year.
But Palkan and Yosa Wari Yanti, president of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union in Macau, estimated that domestic workers in Macau currently earn between 4,000 and 6,000 patacas a month. “It is almost impossible to spend all of our wages on the vaccine. In addition to our food and accommodation expenses, almost all of us send money to our families,” Yosa stressed.
According to the Public Security Police, at the end of June, there were 181,108 workers without resident status in Macau, accounting for 26.4% of the population. Jossa recalled that non-residents “also contribute to Macau’s economy” and warned that making vaccination difficult could contribute to possible future measles outbreaks.
Strength
Formerly known as “monkeypox,” it is a viral disease that spreads from animals to humans, but can also be spread through close physical contact with someone infected with the virus.
The new variant can be easily transmitted between two people without sexual contact and is considered more dangerous than the 2022 variant. “Domestic workers work six days a week in local homes, and some even sleep there. If one family member gets sick, we all get sick,” Yosa explained.
In September and December, two measles cases were recorded in Macau. On Friday, China announced that it would strengthen border monitoring, require all aircraft and ships from epidemic areas to comply with health measures, and develop screening programs for passengers from active epidemic areas. The series of measures will be in force for the next six months.
This is the second time in two years that the infectious disease has been considered a potential threat to international health, with the alert first raised in May last year.
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