SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) — With its fall semester just two weeks away, the University of Rhode Island (URI) is taking steps to prepare for the possibility of monkeypox cases on campus.
URI Medical Director Dr. Christopher Nasin said URI is mimicking how they managed the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think it’s very probably we will see monkeypox,” Nasin said. “We are taking it very seriously.”
Monkeypox spreads through prolonged skin to skin contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People infected with monkeypox should isolate while symptoms last, which can be between two to four weeks.
URI is attempting to get ahead of the illness by sending out fact sheets to students about the virus. While vaccines aren’t in high supply, URI hopes that will change soon.
“My expectation is that we will be bringing that vaccine when we have a good volume of it and will be bringing it on campus and running clinics on campus,” Nasin said.
URI also plans to have the antiviral medication used to treat monkeypox available on campus in the near future.
Roger Williams University and Johnson & Wales University are also informing its students about monkeypox and the preventative steps they are taking.
