Erin Purcell '24: Helping People on their Worst Days
For career inspiration, Erin looked no further than her family of first responders and their calling to “help people on their worst days.”
Emmanuel College continues to monitor information provided by local and national public health officials about the viral disease monkeypox.
This, along with the continued presence of COVID-19, as well as other seasonal illnesses such as influenza means we need to work together to mitigate the spread of any viruses. This requires community-wide efforts and individual, personal responsibility to protect one another.
We will continue to monitor the information from and the guidance of the City of Boston, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over the course of the semester and will communicate any changes to policies and protocols on our campus.
Below, please find frequently asked questions as well as additional resources on monkeypox.
Frequently Asked Questions
Monkeypox is spread through:
- Direct physical contact with an infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids
- Respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact, or during intimate physical contact, such as kissing, cuddling, or sex
- Touching objects, fabrics (such as clothing or linens) that previously touched the rash or body fluids of someone with monkeypox
- Being scratched or bitten by an infected animal
- In this current outbreak many of the cases to date are related to individuals who contracted it due to close physical contact during sexual activity.
- Monkeypox can be acquired by all people, regardless of sexual orientation.
Monkeypox often starts with flu-like symptoms or sometimes with a rash only. Symptoms can include:
- Fever, chills
- Headache
- Muscle aches and fatigue
- Swollen lymph nodes
- A rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on the hands, feet, chest, genital or rectal area.
- The rash goes through various stages before healing completely. Sometimes, people get a rash first, followed by other symptoms. Others only experience a rash.
- Seek medical care and avoid close physical contact and gatherings, including sex with others until you know for sure.
- Call Emmanuel Health Services (617-264-7678) and make an appointment to be seen. Let staff know as soon as possible why you are there.
- Wear a mask and cover any lesions you have with clothing or dressings.
- Health Services can conduct monkeypox testing, however results may take a few days. You will need to maintain isolation until you get results.
- Remain isolated until all lesions (rash) are healed, and scabs have fallen off.
- Cover all your lesions and wear a mask when in close contact with others.
- Clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces and items, such as counters or light switches, using an EPA-registered disinfectant in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Do not engage in sexual activity that involves direct physical contact.
- Review the CDC's guidance on monkeypox and safer sex.
- Do not share clothing, bedding, towels, utensils, etc.
- Do not shake or toss bedding, clothes, towels, or laundry.
- Avoid rash touching upholstered surfaces on furniture.
- Do your own laundry (normal washing practice is sufficient).
- Avoid close contact with any pets (to the extent possible).
- Avoid public transportation.
- Avoid use of contact lenses to prevent inadvertent infection of the eye.
- Avoid shaving rash-covered areas of the body as this can lead to the spread of the virus.
The isolation period for Monkeypox is significant, between two-to-four weeks. Based upon the longevity of the symptoms, the College will request that students isolate off campus.
From an academic standpoint, if a student were to miss class for a significant amount of time due to monkeypox, staff and faculty would work with the student on an individual basis to develop a plan. The College has returned to the face-to-face classroom experience and will not be offering fully online learning options unless necessitated by wide-spread public health issues.
- Avoid close contact (including sexual contact) with people who are sick or have a rash and their household/contaminated items.
- Wash your hands frequently and/or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Decrease the number of sex and intimate contact partners.
- Avoid gatherings where people wear minimal clothing and have direct skin-to-skin contact.
- Be mindful of activities (e.g., kissing, sharing drinks and eating utensils) that might increase the risk of spreading monkeypox whenever you gather with others.
- When properly administered before or after a recent exposure, vaccines can be effective tools at protecting people against monkeypox illness and can make it less severe after exposure.
- Supplies of the monkeypox vaccine are currently limited, both locally and nationally. People who believe they have been exposed to Monkeypox should inquire about the vaccine.
The tuition insurance plan provided through GradGuard includes an epidemic coverage endorsement to provide protection for when an insured student completely withdraws from school for the covered term due to becoming ill from an epidemic, including COVID-19 and monkeypox. The deadline to purchase tuition insurance for the Fall 2022 Semester is September 6, 2022.
