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NYC has ‘turned a corner’ on monkeypox, health commissioner says
By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Oct 12, 2022
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Caroline Lewis
By
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Oct 12, 2022
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New York City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said on Wednesday that significant progress had been made in containing the spread of monkeypox, as cases have continued to drop since late this summer.
“We have turned a corner that I hope indicates that we now have the upper hand on this outbreak,” Vasan said in a briefing on COVID-19, polio, and monkeypox, the city’s three ongoing public health crises.
City officials declared monkeypox a public health emergency in July, days after the World Health Organization deemed it a “public health emergency of international concern.”
Monkeypox has largely affected men who have sex with men, but anyone can be infected. More than 3,600 cases have been reported in the city since the start of the crisis, making up the bulk of the cases reported in New York state.
But Vasan said “we cannot yet declare victory,” even though recorded cases have declined from a peak of 70 each day in early August to fewer than 10 last week.
“The fact is that we've had real challenges,” Vasan said during the press briefing on Wednesday. “Scarce vaccine supply, a virus that was behaving in unpredictable ways — and there were technical glitches and midcourse changes to the method of vaccine administration that understandably led New Yorkers to frustration and questions.”
Both the city and federal governments had initially been criticized as being slow to respond to the outbreak, as lines of people awaiting the monkeypox vaccine stretched down city blocks this summer.
Issues with the city’s appointment portal for monkeypox vaccines caused widespread frustration earlier this summer among New Yorkers clamoring for the vaccine. Vaccine eligibility has since been expanded to anyone considered at risk of contracting monkeypox, based on criteria outlined by the city health department. An August pivot in administering the shots also expanded the supply of doses.
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Michelle Bocanegra
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