Faced with a growing outbreak of the monkeypox virus, health officials in New York expanded access to the monkeypox vaccine on Thursday, offering it to a new group of people who may be at higher risk: men who have had multiple or anonymous male sexual partners in the last two weeks.
New York is the first U.S. jurisdiction to extend access to the vaccine beyond close contact to infected people, following similar actions in the United Kingdom and Canada.
Global public health officials are struggling to work out an effective response to the epidemic, which has spread to dozens of countries since mid-May, especially among networks of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.
New York reported 30 cases of the monkeypox virus on Thursday. At the national level, 173 cases have been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide, more than 3,300 cases of the disease have been reported in 42 countries outside Africa, where it is endemic, in the world’s largest global outbreak.
No outbreak deaths have yet been reported outside Africa, but 72 deaths have been reported since the beginning of the year in endemic African regions.
The opening of the first clinic to offer the vaccine in New York on Thursday was not announced publicly in advance. Instead, after a news release came out at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, the news spread on social media and word of mouth about the sudden availability of the vaccine.
By early afternoon, a queue of more than 100 men had formed in front of the city-run Sexual Health Clinic in Chelsea, which is the only place in the city to offer photos.
At around 1:30 p.m., clinic workers began rejecting new people, asking them to make an appointment online for next week.
There is limited supply of the preferred vaccine to control monkeypox, which has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It is made in Denmark and is known as Jynneos in the United States. Although the federal government owns about 1.4 million doses, Mark Levine, president of the Manhattan area, said there are only about 1,000 doses of vaccine available to city residents.
“The demand we see today is further proof of how proactive the LGBTQ + community – and all New Yorkers – are when it comes to their health and health care demands,” the city health ministry said in a statement. “We are negotiating with the CDC to get more doses and looking for how we can increase our capacity throughout the city.
Gay advocates have been calling for expanded access to the vaccine for weeks. Until Thursday, it was mostly offered only to known contacts of infected people and some health workers. Especially with the pride parade and related celebrations taking place this weekend, the city seems to have far underestimated the demand.
James Krelenstein, co-founder of PrEP4All, a health advocacy group, was among the first in line at the clinic around noon. He received his dose by 12:30 p.m., and said he was relieved to have at least some protection before the parties of pride began in full force.
“I think it was really weird to do this without first consulting the community,” he said, but opening the clinic “is the right move.” We need to introduce the vaccine at this time to the general population. “
There is a strong desire, he said, to receive at least one dose of the two-dose vaccine before this weekend, which will provide at least some protection against the spread, even among people who do not plan to have sexual experience. The disease can be transmitted from skin-to-skin contact with infected lesions all over the body and does not require sexual contact.
“At parties, people often take off their shirts and dance close to each other,” he said. “It allows us to feel a little more comfortable.”
The vaccines will be available at the clinic from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, the city said. The web-based system should also have more meetings than Sunday, officials said.
The monkeypox virus, so named because it was discovered in captive monkeys in 1958, usually begins with flu-like symptoms, such as fever and swollen lymph nodes, and then progresses to a painful rash with pus-filled lesions on the face and body.
Although much less deadly than its relative smallpox, it can be fatal, with mortality between 3 and 6 percent in African regions where it is endemic. It is mainly spread through skin-to-skin contact, but can also be spread through respiratory droplets from prolonged close contact or contact with shared objects such as towels.
What you need to know about the monkeypox virus
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What is monkeypox? Monkeypox is a virus endemic to parts of Central and West Africa. It is similar to smallpox, but less severe. It was discovered in 1958 after outbreaks in monkeys kept for testing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What are the symptoms? Monkeypox creates a rash that begins with flat red spots that rise and fill with pus. Infected people can also have fever and body aches. Symptoms usually appear within six to 13 days, but it can take up to three weeks after exposure for them to appear and can last for two to four weeks. Health officials say smallpox vaccines and other treatments can be used to control the outbreak.
How contagious is it? The virus is spread mainly through body fluids, skin contact and respiratory droplets, although some experts suggest that it can sometimes be transmitted through the air. This does not usually lead to large outbreaks, although it has spread in unusual ways this year and among populations that have not been vulnerable in the past.
Should I be worried? The virus is more likely to spread during sexual intercourse, but the risk of transmission in other ways is low. Most people have mild symptoms and recover within weeks, but the virus can be fatal in a small percentage of cases. Studies also show that older people may have some protection against decades of smallpox vaccinations.
In this global outbreak, the disease sometimes presents differently, with only a few lesions in the genital area or internally. As a result, he risks being confused with other sexually transmitted diseases, such as syphilis and herpes, the CDC warned in a recent health alert.
Testing in the United States takes place in one of about 70 public health labs across the country, but the CDC recently announced it is expanding access to some commercial labs to facilitate testing to order healthcare providers. However, the pace of testing is still relatively low, and some people who suspect they have monkeypox are struggling to find vendors to test them.
As of Wednesday, there were a total of 1,058 tests nationwide for orthopoxvirus, the family of viruses to which monkeypox belongs, the CDC reported.
Joseph Osmundson, a microbiologist at New York University who is among a group of activists pushing for more access to testing and vaccination, said he was “hugely disappointed in the community” about access to the vaccine and hoped other cities would follow in New York’s footsteps. York and will soon open clinics.
At the same time, he said, healthcare professionals need to make better information about starting clinics ahead of time to ensure wider access to doses.
“We fully understand that we are piloting the plane while we are building it, and not everything will be perfect,” he said. “But we are also worried about justice and communication, and the people who were vaccinated first were the ones who were super connected to the information.
Luck and chance also knew who got the first shots.
David Polk, who lives at Hell’s Kitchen, said he arrived at the clinic in Chelsea around 12:15, but not to be vaccinated. He saw people setting up a table and tent near the front door.
“I thought it was a gift,” said Mr. Polk, 39. It turned out to be a registration for the vaccine, and Mr. Polk was one of the first to arrive.
“I’m sure not all of these people were expecting,” Mr. Polk said, “because when I got here, there was no one here, and I had to wait a while because the appointment system wasn’t working.”
But within half an hour, dozens of vaccine seekers began arriving, and a long queue quickly formed, he said. “I think the staff here were as shocked as I was,” Mr Polk said.
Sean Piccoli contributed to the report.
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