The 36th annual AIDS Walk Delaware added a shot of something new: participants at the HIV fundraising event had the chance to get monkeypox and flu vaccines.

“[Monkeypox] is greatly affecting gay men or men who have sex with men,” John Beckley, the director of development and marketing at AIDS Delaware, told WHYY.org. “The same way that we were here at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic and the HIV virus, we should step up and see what we can do for the community by providing the vaccine at our walk.”

Indeed, as POZ reported last month, although anyone can contract monkeypox, about 40% of people with monkeypox are living with HIV, though that number may be much higher in some communities. People whose HIV is well controlled, however, don’t seem to have worse monkeypox symptoms. (For a collection of articles on the topic, click #Monkeypox and #Monkeypox Vaccine.)

AIDS Walk Delaware was held September 17 in two locations—Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach—to support HIV services, raise awareness and honor those lost to the epidemic. The AIDS walk usually draws over 600 participants, including speakers, marching bands, walkers, volunteers and entertainers.

This year’s walk raised money for organizations that provide a variety of HIV services. Recipients include:

  • AIDS Delaware

  • Delaware HIV Consortium

  • Ministry of Caring

  • Beautiful Gate Outreach Center

  • Latin American Community Center

  • William J. Holloway Community Program

  • CAMP Rehoboth.

According to the Delaware HIV Consortium, 3,724 people are living with HIV in the state. Of those, 71% are male, 57% are Black, nearly 32% are white and 8% are Latino. Last year, 84 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in the state.

What’s more, as of September 22, Delaware had 36 confirmed cases of monkeypox, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (click the link to see the number of cases in your state). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  reports a total 24,572 confirmed cases in the nation.

On September 20, AIDS Delaware tweeted that the walk had raised $97,877 of the $100,000 goal, noting that there’s still time to make a donation because the deadline is October 17. (You can donate here.)