Health officials made it clear on Thursday that the Monkeypox virus is nothing like COVID-19.

That goes for its transmissibility, severity of outcomes and longtime established vaccine.

Dr. Rosann Seviour, the province’s acting chief medical officer of health, says Monkeypox is “nowhere near” the same situation as COVID.

She says transmission requires very close, personal. physical contact with an infected person, their clothes or things such as bed sheets., as well as mucus from the eyes, nose or throat.

Seviour acknowledges while most cases in Canada have involved men who’ve had sex with other men, anyone can contract Monkeypox.

The vaccine Imvamune is so far only being offered to close contacts of cases in this province.