As Monkeypox Cases Rise, New York Will Distribute 8,000 Vaccine Doses
New York has emerged as a hot spot for a growing monkeypox outbreak, but as the city prepares to receive thousands of doses of vaccine, it is unclear how the city will distribute them equitably to the people most at risk for the disease: sexually active gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, among whom the global outbreak has been centered.
Last week, a single clinic in Chelsea offered 1,000 doses of the vaccine that the city’s Department of Health had released from its stock.
Hundreds of men turned up as walk-ins, leading the line to close to new people after only about 90 minutes. The city did not publicly announce the clinic’s opening, at noon on a Thursday, until 30 minutes before.
And by Monday, the last shots had been distributed by appointment. The process led to criticism that those most connected to the world of public health and with the time to take hours off during a workday got most of the first slots.
