Dozens of people lined up for monkeypox vaccinations in New York City on Friday as the city launched its second vaccination campaign.
The queue – mostly men – snaked around the side of the Chelsea Sexual Health Clinic in Manhattan this morning.
Gay or bisexual men who have had multiple sex partners over two weeks are being offered the vaccine again in America’s monkeypox capital, along with anyone who has been exposed to a patient with the tropical disease.
But the 2,500 available dates for the Jabs ran out in minutes yesterday as thousands rushed to grab a seat.
Health officials have been blasted over a “technical glitch” that allowed so many people to book slots early via an old link that was already full by the time the first batch was released, and frustrated New Yorkers said they had “zero chance” . to get a push.
New York now has 141 cases of monkeypox, the most of any city in the United States – which has so far registered 700 infections.
Pictured above is the line of mostly men waiting to receive the monkeypox vaccine at the Chelsea Sexual Health Clinic in Manhattan, New York City. The appointments expired yesterday within minutes
Monkeypox vaccines are offered to men who have sex with men who have multiple sex partners in a week
They are also available to all close contacts of suspected or confirmed cases of monkeypox
New York City is the first metropolitan area to record more than 100 cases of the virus in America
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Health introduces monkeypox vaccines at Central Harlem and Chelsea clinics.
They also plan to launch the Corona Sexual Health Clinic in Queens in the next few weeks.
At a news conference yesterday, the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan said the locations were chosen because three quarters of the cases were in Manhattan.
New York City becomes the first in the United States to record more than 100 cases of monkeypox
New York City became the first metropolitan area in America to record more than 100 cases of monkeypox late Wednesday, just over a week after its annual Pride celebrations.
The city’s health ministry said it has now detected 119 cases of the tropical disease, up by half from the same time seven days ago.
Ahead of Pride weekend, concerns were raised that the events – which drew crowds of more than 2 million – could spread monkeypox.
In San Francisco, officials have already linked several Pride parties at nightclubs to outbreaks of the disease.
America has recorded 700 cases of monkeypox to date, most of them in New York, California and Florida. No deaths were reported.
This included about a third specifically in the Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen neighborhoods.
The health department uses Twitter primarily to let people know when vaccines are available, leaving those who don’t use the application on a regular basis down.
On Wednesday it was announced that another 6,000 cans had arrived from the federal government.
But residents have previously called those paltry numbers “ridiculous” considering the city’s population is in the millions.
Officials initially released 600 appointments Wednesday, but due to the glitch, they only went to people who had a link to the old appointments page saved in their browsers.
This meant these were all booked before they were released to the general public.
Another 1,900 appointments were made available later that same day – but these filled up in just 10 minutes.
The city offered 1,000-can walk-ins during the initial introduction, but quickly discontinued them due to high demand.
Nicholas Diamond, one of those who spent hours updating New York City’s website to get a dose, told the New York Times, “By following the Department of Health’s directions, we had no chance of getting the vaccine to get.
“I am genuinely concerned that the city, state and federal government have learned nothing from the Covid response and essentially we have once again been left with the burden of figuring out how to take care of ourselves.”
Announcing the launch start, Vasan said, “Providing vaccines to New Yorkers at highest risk of transmission will ensure more New Yorkers are protected from monkeypox.
“Thank you to our federal partners for providing the necessary support we need to contain transmission and keep New Yorkers safe.”
He added that the city will continue to “work with” the federal government to secure more cans.
Patients will be offered the Jynneous vaccine, given in two doses about four weeks apart.
Experts say that recipients should have some protection shortly after receiving the first dose, but they are not fully protected until about two weeks after the second dose.
Vaccination – which is done using weakened smallpox viruses – is about 85 percent effective against infection with the disease.
New York City yesterday became the first major city in the country to have more than 100 cases of monkeypox, more than a week after Pride celebrations.
Washington DC is the only other area where gay or bisexual men who currently have multiple sexual partners receive injections.
Monkeypox is spread through direct physical contact with infectious skin lesions that occur in the genital and anal areas in the current outbreak.
Health chiefs have been repeatedly criticized for their slow response to the Covid-era outbreak and for not providing enough tests and vaccines for those affected.