Dr. Antonio Chahine, acting public health officer at the city of Berkeley Public Health Division, stood outside the entrance of Steamworks Baths Berkeley, the Bay Area’s sole male bathhouse, on Thursday afternoon to direct bathhouse clients to a mpox vaccination clinic on the Steamworks grounds.
In anticipation of a surge of international visitors at next weekend’s San Francisco Pride Parade and Celebration, the city of Berkeley provided free mpox (formerly monkeypox) vaccines at a pop-up clinic located at Steamworks Baths.
Chahine said that events like the mpox vaccination clinics at Steamworks represent Berkeley’s efforts to keep high-risk populations protected.
On June 12, the California Department of Public Health released an update on the spread of mpox, citing an increase in travel-related clade I cases in California as well as community clade II cases. Since January of this year, seven travel-related clade I mpox cases have been confirmed in California, compared to five cases combined in 2024 and 2025.
As of June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 20 cases of clade I mpox cases in the United States. The uptick in clade I cases is presumed to be due to increased transmission in several countries globally, including in Central and Eastern Africa and Western Europe.
The first case of clade I mpox in San Francisco was confirmed on April 14. The affected person was unvaccinated and had reported close contact with someone who had traveled internationally. The affected person recovered without complications, according to Chahine.
Clade II mpox cases have also recently increased in California. In 2026, the number of clade II cases in California is about three times the number of clade II cases that have been reported in previous years.
Public at minimal risk
The current risk of mpox to the general public is low, according to state health officials.
People at risk of mpox exposure — including gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men — can protect themselves with a two-dose mpox vaccine. The second dose is given four weeks after the first dose, and no booster is required. Getting a second dose of the mpox vaccine increases vaccine effectiveness to 95%, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Mpox is caused by the monkeypox virus and presents as two subtypes: clade I and clade II. Clade I infections are rarer and may be more severe than clade II infections. However, the transmission rates of the clade I and clade II subtypes are similar. Mpox spreads mainly through sex and prolonged skin-to-skin contact with someone infected with mpox.
This year marks the third mpox vaccination event at Steamworks Baths hosted by Berkeley. The inaugural vaccination clinic was in 2022 during the initial mpox outbreak. The second vaccination event occurred in 2025 during Oakland Pride.
Free vaccines will be available next week on June 26 and 27, from 4 to 7 p.m. No registration or insurance is required.
