Rising demand for the monkeypox vaccine caused the appointment system in New York City to crash, one of many places where supplies are nearly as exhausted as they come.
City health officials acknowledged frustration over limited supplies of the vaccine and vowed to build a “stable deployment infrastructure” as vaccine supplies increase.
Infections have now exceeded 1,000 with increasing outbreaks in the US. Most patients experience only fever, body aches, chills, and fatigue. People with more severe disease may have a rash and sores on the face and hands that can spread to other parts of the body.
The lack of a vaccine has raised concerns about the virus. Health officials say anyone can get monkeypox, but most cases in the US are men who have sex with men.
“After COVID, it should have been easier,” said Daniel Ross, 25, a Harlem man who was one of several people seeking to make an appointment on Tuesday. “I stayed fresh and refreshed. … I was disappointed.”
Ross soon left the appointment portal, which was shut down minutes after he went live.
“It bothers me,” he said. “I’m a gay man living in Harlem, very worried. I was bitten by four mosquitoes, and I was wondering what if it wasn’t a mosquito?”
To date, New York City has produced nearly 7,000 vaccines, while thousands of others are waiting for their chance to be vaccinated against the virus. Health officials said they were expecting 14,500 doses this week.
As of Wednesday, 336 people in New York City have tested positive for orthopoxvirus, a category of disease that includes smallpox. According to city figures, this is a quarter more than the day before. Officials said they are absolutely certain that all the new cases are likely to be monkeypox and that many more cases remain undiagnosed.
Learning from its experience with the rollout of COVID vaccines, Washington, DC, is allowing residents to pre-register for vaccination appointments. Officials said that around 3,000 slots were to open on Thursday.
As news of the outbreak spread, Jeff Waters asked his doctor to get vaccinated before the Baltimore man traveled to Europe, where cases are rising. “They said ‘Sorry, we don’t have them here,'” Waters recalled.
Weeks later, the first signs of a monkey hit him during dinner with a friend. He developed a terrible headache, a 102° (38.9°C) fever and severe chills.
“I feel grateful. I had a mild case,” Waters said.
New York City is prioritizing the vaccine to men who have had anonymous sex with other men or who have had multiple partners in the past two weeks.
Symptoms include a rash or sores such as a rash or blisters. They can sometimes be painful but are usually not fatal. Most people do not require hospitalization and recover within two to four weeks.
According to the CDC, the infection is spread through direct contact with rashes, scabs or body fluids. It can be spread through kissing, sex and body contact. In some cases, prolonged face-to-face contact, as well as washing clothes contaminated with the virus, can lead to infection.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said commercial laboratories are developing ways to test for the virus. The CDC said that starting this week the Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis will accept samples from across the country to boost the nation’s testing capacity.
CDC Director Dr. “This will not only increase testing capacity but also make it more convenient for providers and patients to access tests using existing provider-to-lab networks,” Rochelle Valensky said in a statement earlier this week. “
The prevalence of gay men among those infected with the virus has raised new concerns over the stigmatization of the LGBTQ population.
New York City comic Jay Jourdan expressed concern about its inability to secure a vaccine, especially because of the impact in a city with thousands of gay men.
“If they say a vaccine is available, people should be able to get it — or at least the website should work,” Jarden said. “I’m also not saying everyone should be able to have it tomorrow, just that the website should work.”