New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Department health workers help people apply for monkeypox vaccine at one of the City’s immunization sites, Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in New York York.
Mary Altaffer / AP
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Mary Altaffer / AP
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Department health workers help people apply for monkeypox vaccine at one of the City’s immunization sites, Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in New York York.
Mary Altaffer / AP
WASHINGTON – U.S. health officials said Thursday that an outbreak of monkeypox can still be contained, despite a high number of cases and limited supplies of the vaccine so far.
The Biden administration’s top health official has pushed back against criticism for the speed of the response and concerns that the US has missed its chance to contain the virus, which has been declared a global emergency.
“We believe we’ve done all we can at the federal level to work with our state and local impacted partners and communities to ensure that we can go ahead and put an end to this. end this outbreak,” said Xavier Becerra, head of the Ministry of Health and Human Services. Service, told reporters in a call.
But he added that local health officials “have to do their part. … We have no authority to tell them what to do.”
Outcry from federal leaders came when they announced plans to distribute 780,000 two-dose Jynneos vaccines. Doses will be distributed to states, cities, and other localities based on the number of cases and the size of the population considered to be at high risk.
Health departments in San Francisco, New York, Washington, DC and elsewhere say they still don’t have enough shots to meet demand and have stopped scheduling appointments for a second dose of the vaccine to stretch supplies. .
Becerra said the federal government has done its job and said the responsibility now rests with local officials using the tools available.
“We have produced vaccines, tests and treatments far beyond the numbers currently needed for all jurisdictions,” he said.
But a representative for specialist clinics said Becerra’s comments showed “a lack of understanding of the full breadth of this crisis.”
David C. Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Director, said: “Clinicians around the country are begging federal health officials to provide the information, supplies and staff they use. needed to successfully end this outbreak.” The group is urging $100 million in emergency funding for local health departments and clinics.
According to the CDC, there were more than 4,600 cases of monkeypox reported in the US as of late Wednesday, and federal officials expect those numbers to rise.
More than 99% of the reported cases are in men, and the majority of them are in men who report having sex with other men, although health officials have emphasized that Anyone can get the virus.
The US currently has the capacity to test between 60,000 and 80,000 people a day, although Becerra said the number of daily tests is much lower.
The monkeypox virus is mainly spread by skin-to-skin contact, but it can also be transmitted by touching the bed linen of an infected person. People with monkeypox may experience fever, body aches, chills, and fatigue. Many people during outbreaks have developed milia-like bumps that are sometimes painful.
The US has ordered an additional 5.5 million doses of vaccine for delivery by mid-2023 and has rights to the raw materials that could make 11.1 million more. US officials say a major vaccination campaign can still be avoided if communities and individuals take steps to avoid spreading.
In San Francisco, Tom Temprano had an appointment for a second dose next week but was recently told it had been canceled due to limited supplies. Temprano, political director of San Francisco-based Equality California, said he’s frustrated that health authorities have taken so long to respond.
“Especially after two and a half years of being a pandemic, it is just a very disappointing response to the first large-scale public health crisis we have faced,” he said.
He also drew parallels with the government’s slow response to AIDS in the 1980s.
Temprano, 36, said: “I’ve heard from many people… that this is similar to a lack of concern and urgency for an illness that is currently disproportionately affecting the LGBTQ+ community.
The CDC estimates that about 1.5 million Americans currently meet the recommended immunization criteria, mostly men who have sex with men.
But officials on Thursday declined to give figures on how many doses of the vaccine would be needed to contain the outbreak. Nearly 340,000 doses of the vaccine have been distributed, but a CDC official admitted the federal government does not know how many doses have been administered.
The 780,000 additional photos sent to the states this week were delayed due to regulatory and shipping barriers. They sat for weeks in warehouses in Denmark as US regulators completed their inspection and certification of the facility that produced them.
California Senator Scott Wiener, who is on the California Legislative LGBTQ Council, called the additional vaccines “significant.” But he added: “Of course, it’s still not enough, and we know we’re going to get millions more for the rest of this year and next year, which isn’t early enough in real terms. stop this outbreak.”
Georgia’s health department did not have to postpone any second doses, but spokeswoman Nancy Nydam said: “Demand remains very high. Every time the health department or other provider opens an appointment or time. At an event, they will be meeting minutes.”
