Andy Stone is one of the lucky ones. The New York City resident saw a tweet from a local AIDS activist saying monkeypox vaccines would be available that day at a Manhattan clinic. Stone, 35, and her husband booked online appointments right away and received their photos last month.
“I want to do what I can to protect myself and others,” said Stone, a marketing consultant who lives in Brooklyn, who said his primary care physician advised him to get vaccinated as soon as possible. .
Andy Stone was vaccinated against smallpox last month at a New York City clinic. Andy Stone
Hundreds of men who showed up that day without a date and waited in a line meandering through the Chelsea Sexual Health Clinic that day were not so lucky. The 200 shots available went quickly and many people were turned down, according to New York City Council member Erik Bottcher, whose district includes the Chelsea neighborhood. When people tried to make online appointments for the next few days, none were available, he said in a letter to state officials urgently requesting additional doses of the vaccine.
The first case of monkeypox in the United States was confirmed in mid-May. As the number of monkeypox cases reached 605 nationwide on July 6, some public health experts saw echoes of COVID-19 in the government’s stoppage response.
“We’re six weeks and we’re still having issues with the availability of testing and vaccine supply, all of those issues that we saw with COVID,” said Gregg Gonsalves, an associate professor of epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health. “Now, the prospects of containment are declining rapidly.”
Monkeypox is not COVID. COVID has killed more than 1 million Americans, but no one has died from a smallpox infection in the United States during the current outbreak. People cannot get monkeypox simply by entering a room and breathing the same air as an infected person.
The monkeypox virus, which belongs to the same family as smallpox, usually causes painful, pimple-like sores on people’s faces, hands, feet, chest, or genitals, along with fever and swollen lymph nodes. Until the injuries are over and healed, people can infect other people through close physical contact or by touching things like bedding that came in contact with the rash. People usually recover from monkeypox in two to four weeks.
Most of the infections identified so far have occurred in men who have sex with men, and many of the cases are found in Europe. But the World Health Organization reported on July 1 that cases are emerging among other groups, in some cases, among people such as household members, heterosexual contacts and children. Up to 10% of patients have been hospitalized, according to the WHO.
There are two vaccines available to protect people against monkeypox, Jynneos and ACAM2000. Federal officials are focusing on prioritizing the supply of Jynneos, administered in two doses 28 days apart, because it has fewer side effects and can be administered to immunocompromised individuals, which ACAM2000 cannot. The federal government has distributed more than 800 doses of the ACAM2000 vaccine to date.
For now, though, the distribution of vaccines is barely a drip, and front-line health care providers say they need more doses now.
In recent days, federal officials have announced a three-pronged response to the monkeypox outbreak that includes expanded vaccine deployment, easier access to testing and a campaign to educate the public and providers about the disease and promote vaccinations among those most at risk. especially those in the LGBTQ + community.
“While monkeypox poses a minimal risk to most Americans, we are doing everything we can to offer vaccines to those at high risk of contracting the virus,” the Secretary of Health and Services said. Humans, Xavier Becerra, in a statement. “This new strategy allows us to maximize the supply of currently available vaccines and reach those who are most vulnerable to the current outbreak.”
Initially, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people be vaccinated only if they were exposed to someone with monkeypox. The federal guide has been extended to a much larger group, including men who have sex with men who have recently had multiple sexual partners in a place where monkeypox has been reported.
On July 1, the CDC said it had purchased additional doses of the Jynneos vaccine, made by Bavarian Nordic A / S, which raised to 4 million the total number of doses that will be available in 2022 and 2023. by July, the federal government said it had distributed 41,520 “courses for patients” of the vaccine to 42 jurisdictions.
New York City expands access to monkeypox vaccine as virus spreads through US 05:26
New York City received 1,000 initial doses that were made available at the Chelsea clinic, but then received nothing more for nearly two weeks. In Washington, DC, it has been reported that 300 appointments for vaccines that were available in late June were made within minutes. In Los Angeles, since July 1, 800 doses of vaccine had been distributed to people who are close contacts with people who have the disease. In a press release, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said it would provide more doses to high-risk groups as vaccine supply increases.
In early July, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said it had been approved for about 6,000 additional doses of the vaccine, which it would make available at two city clinics. However, a software failure stopped efforts to make appointments. They are scheduled to resume next week. The city health department’s Twitter channel has chronicled its efforts to purchase vaccines and schedule appointments, along with residents ’exasperation.
“A sincere apology for the technical difficulties our vendor @medrite_ experienced with the launch of today’s smallpox vaccine appointment,” tweeted New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan. “We are committed to doing better in the coming days and weeks.”
The city has recorded 141 suspected cases of smallpox, according to officials.
Doses for New York will be a drop in the bucket, advocates said. At three clinics in New York City, the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center serves 20,000 mostly LGBTQ + patients, many of whom are eager for the vaccine, center officials said.
“We’re promoting vaccines and working closely with patients to find access to them,” said Anthony Fortenberry, Callen-Lorde’s director of nursing. “But right now, there’s a very small amount of vaccine available and it’s far below demand.” The health center has so far treated 15 patients with monkeypox, he said, more than four a week ago.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to requests for information on vaccine availability and testing.
Epidemiologists said speeding in the disease tests also hampered the country’s ability to cope with the smallpox outbreak. Without widespread testing and contact tracking, the extent of the outbreak is unclear.
“Right now, we don’t make any sense if it’s the tip of the iceberg,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Brown University School of Public Health.
To date, monkeypox testing has been managed by a network of public health labs and requires a cumbersome process that many doctors are unfamiliar with, according to some critics. “If you’re an average physician, you may have never sent a sample to a public health lab,” said Dr. James Lawler, executive director of international programs and innovation at the University Medical Center’s Global Center for Health Security. of Nebraska. .
As part of the expanded efforts announced by federal officials, five major commercial labs will begin testing this month, dramatically increasing capacity.
Systemic improvements offer little comfort to people at risk right now.
Charles Rockhill said he has nightmares about the monkey’s smallpox. “I’m pretty worried. I work in a gay bar,” the Manhattan resident said. “I’m around a lot of people all the time.” Rockhill is a waiter at Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, the site of the Stonewall uprising in 1969, considered the cradle of gay pride. He has been looking for appointments for monkeypox vaccination. You can’t get vaccinated, wear gloves to work, and wash your hands more often at work. In his personal life, he is also wandering on the side of caution.
“I’m just trying to make the best decisions for myself and I hope it doesn’t infect me,” he said.
KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on health issues. Along with Policy Analysis and Surveys, KHN is one of the top three KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) operational programs. KFF is a gifted non-profit organization that provides information on health issues in the nation.
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